Speaking Brand…in 140 Characters

By Devon Alter, Account Executive

“So basically, you tweet for a living?” This is something people often ask me when I tell them I work in social media. What is often misunderstood is that I do not tweet every day as @DevonAlter, I tweet on behalf of a brand... I’m a cheerleader, a friend, concierge, a cop and much more.

Below I have shared four simple steps to follow when tweeting for a brand:

• Become the Brand: Everything published on a brand’s Twitter page is seen by the public as an official message. The company’s social media brand guidelines must now become your bible. These guidelines are the framework for your content development. Remember you can show your personality, but you must align with the tone of the company. For example, @travelocity and @RoamingGnome use different “voices” to represent the same brand. The @Travelocity account promotes deals, travel news and provides support, while the @RoamingGnome account tweets as “himself” and shares @Travelocity information, as well as his own thoughts and musings about life and the world.
• @Travelocity: “Would you like to go to Bermuda? Well now's the time to book! From today until next Friday we're having a 50% sale.”
• @RoamingGnome: “You may not know this, but I become a complete limbo master once on a cruise. #waveseason”
• Keep it Simple: You only have 140 characters, including relevant links. Take key message points and create a couple of tweets around them. Include only one “call-to-action” (CTA) per post.
• “We have an exciting new product with brand new features for you to discover. Learn more about it at ”
• Follow Back: Following users that follow and engage with the brand is a simple way to create unique connections with users (which is often why they come to twitter in the first place). The goal is to have an even follower–to–following ratio so the brand appears engaged and conversational.
• Engage: In order to build an interactive community, users must engage with the brand. Be conversational by including posts that request an interaction relevant to the brand. This request would be your single CTA. Be sure to use hashtags to link common themes. This makes it easier for users to find more information about your brand and its products.

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember engaging on behalf of a brand online is a significant responsibility and a role you must take very seriously, while still having fun. Happy Tweeting!