Facebook versus Twitter: Key distinctions for business users
By: Chloe Rolph
September 21, 2011 | Reading Time: 2 mins
As a business owner, it is important to understand some key distinctions between Facebook and Twitter usage in order to leverage them for your market and delegate your time spent on each.
People will interact differently with your brand on Twitter than they do on Facebook. When a customer decides to “Like” your brand on Facebook, they have opted in to a wealth of information and updates because they are interested in your product or service. Through a bunch of interactive features, you can build an intimate relationship with your customers. That’s deep. Twitter on the other hand, moves at a much more rapid pace and sharing of information is not limited to those subscribed to your brand. Twitter is a much more open network where most users welcome new connections and are more likely to share information they have enjoyed by broadcasting “re-tweets”. That’s wide.
The half-life of information is drastically different. According to research by Bit.ly, links posted via Twitter had a half life (amount of time at which the link will receive half of the clicks it will ever receive after it’s reached its peak) of 5 minutes, while Facebook posts lasted much longer at 70 minutes. Twitter is a never-ending, rapid stream of information where customers expect to interact in real time. Tweets can be lost in a feed, so reach out often. Facebook posts remain on your wall long after they are initially posted, enabling deeper interactions.
Should you choose one or the other? Absolutely not – You need a social media strategy that allows you to dig deep and connect meaningfully with existing customers but also reach far out to prospective customers. Delegate your time on each platform according to where your customers spend most of their time as well as the platform best suited to the type of interaction you are after. Just don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
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