Poll Results – Business v Personal Twitter Use
A week ago I kicked off a survey on whether people use Twitter for business, pleasure or both, and if for both do they separate their accounts (original post here). After a great response from the wider Twitterverse, the results are in.
Question 1 was “Do you use Twitter for business reasons, personal, or both?”
Use of Twitter for Business, Personal or Both
70% of people who responded use Twitter for both purposes, with another 20% utilising it as a business tool, and the remaining 10% using it without the aim of financial gain. So for those of you planning to use it to promote your business (and assuming this is indicative of the Twitter population), you are competing with up to 90% of the users for a share of voice. Naturally, depending on your niche that number could fluctuate either way, but when the base is as high as 90%, it is safe to assume that marketers and business owners of all kinds realise its value as a tool, and you need to be clear with your messages.
What was more interesting was the response to the second question “If you use for both, do you use different accounts”
Use of the Same or Different Accounts for Twitter
Only 30% of respondents maintained separate accounts for business and personal tweeting, with 70% happy for them to be combined.
So what does this mean for the original question that I posed when starting the poll? Can using the same Twitter account for business and personal tweeting have a negative effect on your business and online reputation?
It seems that the majority of Twitter users think not, and I believe this is where the platform comes into its own. Because of Facebook’s plethora of applications, add ons and features, it makes sense to split your personal profile to your business, as there is simply too much information that can lead to mixed messages, or worse, something damaging your online reputation.
Twitter’s beauty lies in its simplicity. Because you only have 140 characters to work with, building a profile for you and also your business simultaneously is the way to go. How you conduct yourself with your personal tweets builds trust and following for when you want to promote your business.
A few tips for business and personal tweeting:
- Be consious of how each post will affect perception of your personal and business brand
- Retweet those that you find interesting and want to share, they will appreciate it
- Remember to remain relevant, concise and compelling with both types of tweets
Are there any specific reasons you tweet business and personal together or separately? Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you.
Related posts:
- Twitter – Business, Personal or Both?
- Automated DM – Annoying Twitter Habits Part 2
- Follow, Unfollow, Follow, Please Follow – Annoying Twitter Habits Part 1
- Twitter For Business
- Twitter as a Customer Service Tool
Tags: Facebook, Online Reputation, Social Media, Social Networking, Twitter
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