The Enterprise Argument for Using Twitter

The Enterprise Argument For Using Twitter

By Michael Brito
Expert Author
Article Date: 2008-07-30

I use Twitter. I use Twitter a lot. I use Twitter so much that I even wrote my own Twitter Manifesto; which I think is already out of date.

Sometimes I use it to chronicle my daily life; sometimes for self promotion and other times to communicate the latest the greatest at Intel. Regardless of the contents of my "tweets", I can humbly say that my intention is to be authentic, build trust with those who follow, nurture that relationship and evangelize Intel's social media initiatives without interrupting the nature of the conversation.

From what I understand, there have been several internal conversations within various organizations about Twitter usage and whether or not there is business value to have employees use Twitter during work hours. I personally believe there is value; assuming of course that the concept of "community building", "evangelism" or "social media" fall somewhere within your job description.

My friend and colleague Bob Duffy touched on this subject just the other day:

This is all too real. I was just told last week that some employers are watching tweets and wondering why employees are doing this during work. I have not heard of policies yet but there's communication out there to keep it in control or you will be viewed in the wrong light. The old, manage workers through political pressure trick.

As I read through Bob's post, I tried to put myself in management's position and try to understand their point of view about this matter. Now I completely agree that there is a serious problem if an employee is spending their entire day on Twitter and not living up to their performance expectations. I really don't think this is the case though. I think it's merely a lack of understanding and education, not just about Twitter but holistically about social media. If done right, Twitter can be used to share/learn best practices about social media; get instant feedback about current projects; distribute content and build community. It really is an awesome tool.

But more importantly, in my humble opinion of course, Twitter does so much more than that. It brings a human face to an organization. Here's is what Bob had to say about this point:

Twitter allows you as a marketer to start building an online persona. The reason this is important is because, well to be honest, the average customer doesn't trust you as far as they could throw you. As a marketer, you're biased, manipulative and loud. Generally not very fun to hang with. By building an online persona you are not the institution. Instead as a regular guy, gal, or other category of human being you are more relatable.

I couldn't agree more with this analysis. I follow guys on Twitter like @RichardatDELL. He is a real person that I can have a real conversation with. He is not Dell Corporation nor is he hiding behind the Dell logo. He is a human being and I can relate to him far better than I can a corporate entity. And, since I have been following Richard, my relationship with Dell has evolved. When I look at the Dell logo on my laptop or walk by a Dell Kiosk in the mall; it's much more personal.

Unfortunately, my good friends at my two previous gigs - HP & Yahoo - have yet to fully understand the true business value of using Twitter. Take a look at each profile and you will see what I mean. They are using Twitter simply as a one-way promotional vehicle pushing out blatant marketing messages; in hopes of driving web traffic to their respective web properties. Oh, and Yahoo's is posting links that are going to pages that don't even exist. : (

Building trust, relationships and exemplifying authenticity are all important in establishing an online persona; and what better way to establish a persona than using Twitter. That is where the true value comes in; and that's what should be communicated to senior management.

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About the Author:
Michael Brito is the Vice President of Social Media at Edelman Digital. His previous employers include HP, Yahoo!, and Intel where he was responsible for driving consumer social media strategies and programs. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his social media blog.