If you’re just beginning to use social media, Twitter and Facebook may seem very similar.
And while it’s true that both services…
Are built around publicly shared “status updates”
Enable users to “follow” or “friend” each other
Can be simultaneously updated through third party services like HootSuite
… you’ll soon realize that the audience for each service has very different goals and expectations.
Broadly speaking, Twitter is good for…
Connecting with peers and industry professionals
“Water cooler” discussions of breaking news & pop culture
Real-time information-sharing, research, Q&As, etc.
Technology-focused and business-driven discussions
One-way broadcasts, with occasional commentary
… while Facebook is good for…
Connecting with people you already know “in real life”
Threaded discusssions (where all comments are collected)
Personal opinions
Photo albums
Videos
Twitter, while offering less robust features than Facebook, is also (paradoxically) considered to be the more professional and business-oriented platform. Meanwhile, Facebook (like MySpace before it) is the more visually-driven sharing platform among friends, family and acquaintances.
This means that the users of each service have different expectations for their experience on each platform. And if you’re piloting a brand across both channels, you need to be aware of those differences. (Dan Zarella writes frequently, and well, about how to do this.)
For example, in December of 2009, we at Creative Concepts were helping The Children’s Aid Society promote their annual Miracle on Madison fundraiser. Most of the news about that particular event — celebrity sightings, fashion updates and high-end sales — differed from the vast majority of The Children’s Aid Society’s traditional topics (children’s health, education, foster care and family services).
We quickly learned that the charity’s followers on Twitter remained open to the Miracle on Madison messaging, but their fans on Facebook chilled to the idea. While they may be interested in the actual work being done by The Children’s Aid Society, that must seem at odds with more “commercial” updates about a high society Manhattan fundraising event.
So they made their voices heard – some abandoned The Children’s Aid Society Facebook page.
When we noticed a drop in Facebook numbers that coincided with an increase in Miracle messaging, we followed our instincts and dialed down the Miracle mentions on Facebook. And when their fans’ behavior subsequently returned to normal, we chalked that up as a lesson learned — and one we believe is worth sharing:
Facebook is not Twitter is not MySpace is not a blog. You may have one message, but you have multiple audiences.
Listen, and then adjust your pitch.
Want to hear our various voices? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!
A few years ago, we helped our client, Bigelow Tea, produce a video showing viewers how to naturally decaffeinate an ordinary teabag. (Why would someone do this? Because sometimes a cafe doesn’t have your favorite flavor in a decaf version, so wouldn’t it be great to reduce that caffeine level all by yourself?)
There was just one problem: the metrics Bigelow cited in that video were outdated. Newer studies had clarified the expected levels of caffeine after natural decaffeination, and they differed from the numbers in the video.
Fortunately, one astute viewer noticed this discrepancy and brought it to Bigelow’s attention.
Even better? Bigelow listened.
Initially, they hoped they could fix those numbers with updated graphics, but there was no way around the numbers Cindi Bigelow herself was saying aloud throughout the how-to section.
So, in the end, they opted to have Creative Concepts (that’s us) reshoot the whole video and replace it across all video outlets. Cindi even tracked two of the most recent studies the night before the video was filmed, just to ensure that the numbers were still in line.
In Bigelow’s view, sharing accurate information is far more important than cutting corners. They pride themselves on providing their customers with insights and information they can count on, and when those facts and figures are in dispute, they take their corrections very seriously.
How committed to clarity is your company? (And are they listening to their customers to make sure their messages are being heard… and heard correctly?)
When our client Ouidad first launched their blog, they — and we — thought we knew exactly whom its readership would be: smart, savvy women who take great care of their curls and feel passionate about looking good.
It turns out we were half-right.
Yes, the blog attracted exactly the kind of readers we anticipated. But it also attracted a number of readers we didn’t expect, including teens, men and moms on the go. It also appealed to non-English-speaking readers in search of curly-haired tips, and African-American readers interested in more reliable hair care solutions.
So we adapted.
We helped Ouidad create new blog posts on the subjects their readers asked the most questions about. We broadened the blog’s focus to include tips for men, teens and kids (or, more specifically, their moms). And we now regularly include posts written in (or translated into) Spanish, to better accommodate Ouidad’s multilingual audience.
Our lesson?
Good companies support the customers they already know they have; great companies find ways to accommodate the customers they never knew existed.
Do you know who your customers are?
(Are you sure?)
What’s your favorite way to “discover” new customers? Tell us on Twitter.
Last month, Ecover (our client) had an unusual problem. A UK consumer magazine named Which? alleged that several “green” household cleaners were fabricating (or “greenwashing”) their claims. Ecover was one of the brands named in the report, which was published in The Guardian, creating a maelstrom of public opinion.
But there was one problem with the article: in Ecover’s eyes, the methodology that Which? used to create the report was flawed, erroneous and misinformed — and now it was being reported as a verifiable truth.
When one Twitter user, Jane C Woods, tweeted a link to the Guardian’s article, Ecover’s Kipling Wagner noticed and responded by sending Jane a link to Ecover’s rebuttal. Afterward, Jane — who’s an Ecover customer in the UK — took the opportunity to ask Kipling a question about a problem she was having with her dishwasher, which she believed may have been caused by Ecover’s dishwashing products. Kipling and Jane each researched the issue — Kipling within Ecover, and Jane with her repairman — and each came to a similarconclusion, with steps to remedy the situation.
We (CC) asked Kipling and Jane about their discussion on Twitter, and here’s what they had to say.
Kipling Wagner, Assistant Marketing Manager and Brand Activator at Ecover, Inc
CC: How did you first discover Jane’s tweet re: the Which? article?
KW: I saw Jane’s tweet through my monitoring alerts on Tweetdeck.
CC: Why did you feel compelled to share Ecover’s rebuttal with her directly?
KW: I felt compelled to share it with her directly because of a combination of details. I looked at her other tweets to gauge what type of twitterer she is (was she sending out quality messages? Interacting with people positively? Was she influencing others? All of which she seemed to be). I also noticed that someone had thanked her for sharing the original Which? article, and this alarmed me because I knew this article was gaining momentum virally. If people were looking to her tweets for trustworthy information, I knew I had to share our side.
CC: How did you go about investigating her question re: her dishwashing issue?
KW: She replied to me, thanking me for the Which? article clarification, and then followed it with a product question. I was reluctant to answer because she is in the UK and we’re in the US, and I was worried about the invisible boundaries and crossing lines within our own company. Now I was interacting with a UK consumer, not just a UK tweeter. First, I let her know I had seen her question, and then I sent an email to our communications department to confirm with them my suspicions on why she was having said issue. Once they got back to me, I let her know the verdict.
CC: How do you feel about the exchange thus far? How has it been beneficial to you / Ecover?
KW: Absolutely beneficial. Although she’s way over in the UK, the boundaries on the web are non-existent. It’s important that we’re able to take a potentially negative situation – spreading of an inaccurate depiction of Ecover through questionable journalism – and turn it into an informed and positive exchange. Also, Ecover is very focused on being honest and transparent, so having the (new) ability, thanks to Twitter, to talk to someone about their concerns (like the Which? article) and then wind up resolving a product issue is priceless. I value that Twitter allows us to do all of this with our audience. It’s like “super practice” for those of us in marketing to be able to work out issues with our consumers, all under the watchful eye of others; we learn more about our own company and products and our consumers at the same time. It’s very rewarding.
CC: How did you originally come across the Which? report?
JW: I am a regular subscriber to Which?.
CC: Were you surprised when Kipling contacted you with Ecover’s response?
JW: Very surprised. Initially, it ‘freaked’ me a bit, as it felt a tad ‘big brotherish;’ but then I realised that all big companies keep an eye out for discussion of their products.
CC: How did Ecover’s rebuttal change your opinion of the Which? report (if at all)?
JW: It didn’t really. Although I guess I would agree that the Which? report hadn’t gone into huge amounts of detail. I had had a problem with Ecover for a while in that my machine does get gummed up. Repairman said it’s a common problem with Ecover type products, and I also had to put some cleaning fluid through my machine… which kind of defeats the object doesn’t it?
CC: Was Kipling’s advice about your dishwasher problem helpful?
JW: Yes, in that it was the same advice as given by the repairman, i.e., run a very hot wash now and again, and run it empty. I do leave the drawer open, but I’m not convinced that will help.
CC: Do you frequently engage with businesses on Twitter? Do you find these kinds of digital interactions beneficial?
JW: Yes, often. I also tend to use Twitter to promote my business. It’s very helpful and it encourages me to buy from companies I have tweeted!
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Considering Jane’s ongoing concerns about her dishwasher, we expect more discussions between Kipling and Jane — and between Ecover and their growing international customer base — in the future.
After all, every problem has a solution, and those solutions almost always involve a conversation.
Is your business talking — and listening — to customers?
This past week, we wrapped up a short social media campaign we’d been involved with for a client, Bigelow Tea. As is often the case, what didn’t work is just as valuable (if not more so) than what did work, and we thought you might be interested in some of our observations.
Facebook and Twitter Are Not the Same Tribe. When Bigelow Tea was preparing to announce their new spokesperson*, together we spent a week dropping clues on Twitter, followed by a one-hour window in which participants could guess the spokesperson’s identity. But fans of their Facebook page were upset that the contest wasn’t extended to Facebook as well, and some of them made it very clear that they didn’t (and wouldn’t) tweet. Ever. Lesson: Don’t expect users of one platform to naturally migrate to another.
Private Twitter Accounts Can Complicate Contests. In the same Bigelow contest, participants were provided with a hashtag — #GuessWhoBigelow — to include with their guesses. But not all of the hashtagged responses showed up in a search for that hashtag. Why not? Because some guesses came from Twitter users whose accounts are set to “private” (AKA the ones whose tweets are preceded by a padlock icon), and “private” tweets don’t show up in general searches. Lesson: When planning a public contest, take into account whether (and how) “private” people can easily participate.
Your Interested Audience Is Not Always Your Target Audience. One respondent to the contest complained that “all these sports-related clues are pretty useless to some of us on the Internet,” which we found to be an interesting — and, in this case, unresolvable — objection. Since Bigelow’s new spokesperson is a sports legend, the contest naturally leaned in that direction. We therefore presumed anyone taking part in the contest would use their Googling skills to find the answer. Unfortunately, non-sports fans felt left out of both the contest and any means of finding the answer. Lesson: You can’t please everyone.
The knowledge we’ve absorbed from this campaign will pay off as we apply it to future projects. And while social media may have a never-ending learning curve, it doesn’t mean we can’t all keep getting smarter, one lesson at a time.
* If you were wondering, the answer is Wayne Gretzky.
On December 6, The Children’s Aid Society (our client) will have their biggest fundraiser of the year: Miracle on Madison. Every year, stores up and down Madison Avenue donate a portion of that day’s proceeds to help provide health services and other crucial necessities to children in need.
We’re proud to be a part of this year’s Miracle on Madison, and we look forward to seeing hundreds of holiday shoppers chipping in to help those most in need of a happier holiday.
If you’re taking part in this year’s Miracle on Madison, use the hashtag #ShopMiracle on Twitter and Flickr, so The Children’s Aid Society in New York can find your photos and feedback!
Ever wonder if your messaging sticks with your audience? Just ask your kids.
When we joined Cindi Bigelow on a trip to her alma mater (Boston College), we were blown away by just how many college students drink tea (we figured college was a serious coffee haven). But even more surprising than the students’ taste for tea was how they developed their tea-drinking habits: it came from their families.
If you had told us beforehand that we’d find a random wave of passersby (none of the students were pre-selected) and almost all of them would have had a love of tea instilled in them by their parents, we would have said you were crazy. Why? Because of sterotypical preconceptions, like:
Kids don’t listen to their parents
Kids rebel
Kids define their own personalities in opposition to family tradition
College students have horrible eating habits
College students live off caffeine
And so on.
Yet, if college students are willing to admit that their parents’ love of tea has rubbed off on them, what other bits of wisdom (or, conversely, what other bad habits) have you passed on to your kids?
Thanksgiving is right around the corner. If you have students returning home from college — or if it’s you who’s heading home for the holidays — take a moment and find out which elements of your (or your parents’) messaging have survived the gap between the backyard and the dorm. You may be surprised.
And you may learn a thing or two about the kinds of messages that last.
Cancer can be terrifying, especially to those of us who’ve never had it. A loved one’s diagnosis can seem like a death sentence. The future suddenly feels finite, and our formerly limitless possibilities now appear inconsequential in the cold, clinical light of science.
But the most amazing thing about cancer is the way some people not only overcome it, but convert their experience with cancer into a lens through which they can more clearly see — and more fully enjoy — the world they’ve now more fully come to appreciate.
Two of our clients have just such stories, and since cancer is a condition that extends beyond the constraints of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, we thought we’d share them with you now.
“I can say with total certainty that this is a disease that I am living with NOT dying from.”
Likewise, Ouidad is another successful businesswoman. Her eponymous New York salon just celebrated its 25th anniversary. But along the way, Ouidad had to overcome more than just the fashion industry’s skepticism about a self-made “curl professional” — she had to overcome breast cancer. And she did. Now she and her husband Peter oversee Curls for a Cure, which works year-round to raise money for breast cancer research.
These remarkable women are only two of the millions who’ve refused to allow their cancer to define them, and who have emerged from their medical challenges with their energies renewed and their focuses sharpened. We hope their stories serve as inspiration for you, no matter the hills or mountains in your path, and as a reminder that there is a life to be lived passionately on the other side.
When you’re just starting out in business, you can get bombarded with advice on how to do (or not do) just about everything. So here’s a tip: focus on the advice from people who were once in the exact same spot you’re in, and who somehow managed to navigate their way to long-term success.
One such compendium of information is Young Professional’s Guide to Success by Ryan Kohnen, which includes business tips from Cindi Bigelow, President and CEO of (our client) Bigelow Tea. Among Cindi’s rules for workplace success: “Remember that people are watching you.” And while her observation is meant to highlight the importance of leading by example, it also serves as a reminder of the changing times we live in, where more and more of what we do and say is available (and searchable) online. Now setting a positive example extends beyond the boardroom and applies to “public” forums like Facebook, Twitter and Flickr — proof that your actions define you, no matter where those actions take place.
Worried? Don’t be — everyone’s human, and everyone makes mistakes. But if your mistakes are going to be cached on Google for all eternity, they should at least be mistakes that everyone (including you) can learn from.
One of our clients, Ouidad, has ventured into the world of web video with a trio of hair care tips for the terminally curly. Each video has a different focus — beauty & empowerment, hair care on the go and 4-minute curls — which means each video also (presumably) has a different audience, despite the fact that they’re all coming from the same source.
Since Ouidad and her daughter, Sondriel, are so comfortable being themselves and sharing their insights with the camera, we knew they’d represent their business better than any hired hosts possibly could. But they also realized that Sondriel’s expertise may sound more authentic to a teen or young adult audience than Ouidad’s would, because not every audience perceives “authority” the same way.
If you (or a client) are creating original media for the web, you need to be consistent in your branding, but don’t be slavishly insistent on a single point of view. Your audience is multifaceted; let your messaging be, too.
