True or False: There are really no differences between corporate tweeting and personal tweeting.

If you said “true,” then you’re probably accurate, but not quite. If you said “false,” then you’re so close, but so far away. If you’re the person that said “Is this a trick question?,” then  you’re 100% correct! Let’s take a closer look.

The Half-Truth Won’t Set You Free

It is true to say that there are really no differences between corporate and personal tweeting, but this is only the half-truth. There is a line between personal and business-related tweets that are becoming harder to define. As you may have noticed, integration among many social network platforms are becoming the norm within the social/cultural and business sphere.  Corporate tweeters are heavily incorporating industry-specific or work-related commentaries, tweets, posts and conversations to their tweets. The rest of their tweets are composed of personalized greetings, random chatters, personal status updates (what they had for lunch), and so forth.

An interesting variable regarding this argument stems from the type of industry a company is associated with. I follow many fashion- and design-related companies who are very good at incorporating business-related messages into their posts, using personable and targeted messages that makes a user feel engaged as a person, not as a revenue goal. Take, for example, Nordstrom’s tweets as of June 23, 2011:

Here’s a screenshot that displays a business tweeting corporately with a “personal” and “professional” message. Their emphasis on customer service matters as much as their products, given by a show of healthy responses to customers who had an excellent customer experience and to those who did not. (I can attest to their customer service, as I have been a VIP for many years!).

Conversely, personal tweeters composing personalized commentaries, posts and updates are also posting business-related or business-oriented tweets that match their own passions, styles, and tastes. @JasonFalls, @BrandiRahill and even myself have posted various types of tweets, ranging from professional, business-related posts to personal and conversational tweets. Others like @socialmedia2day, @mashable and its subsidiary accounts are another example of Tweeples that include business-oriented content while maintaining a personable level.

Blurred Lines

Many of us that intertwine their passions with business are what makes social media (i.e. Twitter) interesting and what makes corporate and personal differentiation blurry. Again, it’s the industry background that these companies are coming from that makes it more dynamic, and oftentimes more confusing. For example, I can make a case that someone from the web design industry can talk a lot about (and with authority) music and fashion in the same sense as one who is in these respective fields. I can also make a case for specific companies tweeting posts/tweets tailored to their specific niche/industry/audience alone. And then there are those who fall in between.

All that to say is that there is (and has been) a growing trend of subject incorporation in tweets, and that is a good thing and not-so-good thing, depending on who you ask. The blurred lines can have an impact on your Klout structure and any other social media influencer metrics. In fact, metric tactics like segmentation of your followers/tweet topics for analytics and data aggregation, based on specific topics/subjects/etc, can get somewhat messy and convoluted.

As we will see in the days ahead, you’ll find that you’ll have more followers to blur the lines of “specific topics” and be more involved in other passions not related to their business. I believe that this is the truest form of tweeting; to be able to infuse your personal character and integrity into the life of your business and passions.

David
@zioneyemedia

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