Learn/Create-a-Personality-for-Your-Brand-on-Twitter

By [[User:|]] on

Would you rather buy from a person, or a brand?

We thought so. Most people would rather feel like they’re engaging with real people than with a faceless, nameless “brand.” That’s especially true in social media, where people readily express their opinions and personalities.

So, how do you stay human on Twitter? Don’t be afraid to BE a human being on Twitter. Even if your company’s Twitter account has your company’s name, you can still project some personality.

[insert image here: Twitter stream for TravelOregon]

Notice that TravelOregon promotes its own content, while also responding to people and retweeting other people’s comments. That makes TravelOregon’s Twitter stream seem like a real person is writing it, and conversing with the account’s followers. It doesn’t read like a stream of pre-scheduled, rote tweets, or automatic tweets from the organization’s blog.

Need an example of a boring, un-engaging Twitter feed? Here you go:

image

This is a pretty typical business-account feed. It’s just a series of automated tweets from the company’s blog - no personality, no variety, and no conversation.

You may be thinking this is unfair. How interesting can a foreign-exchange company’s tweets possibly be? Well, let’s look at another example. Groceries are kind of boring, right? Maybe, but Safeway’s Twitter feed is engaging and feels like a real person is writing it. Note the two tweets to @Jonspach at the top that clearly indicate a real conversation is going on:

Make people laugh, or catch them offguard

It’s okay to be funny on Twitter, and when a big brand shows some humor, it’s refreshing. Just take a look at Southwest Air’s Twitter feed:

image

Note that Southwest Air attributes its tweets to actual people by using the ^ character and someone’s initials. This is a great way to show that several different people are manning the account.

Try bringing a more human touch to your tweets. We’re willing to bet you’ll pick up more followers and get retweeted more often. That gives you a much bigger audience, and more opportunity to win new customers. And you’ll probably have more fun!

Have you seen a company with a great Twitter presence? Share it with us on Twitter by mentioning us (@AboutUs) or me (@AlizaEarnshaw) and the handle of the company or brand you think is doing great.