I’ve noticed that some of the brands I follow on Twitter are doing something a little different. Instead of shouting marketing speak at me, they are letting me know they are human. And not just human in the metaphorical sense, but actual living, breathing human beings. And I love this! I don’t know why it matters to me so much, but I really want to know who specifically a Tweet is coming from, not just which brand they represent.
For example, Coca-Cola has a few tweeters behind their branded Twitter account. So to minimize confusion and let everyone know who is talking, they add their initial to the end of each tweet.
This tweet came from ^AB, also known as Adam Brown the director of Digital Communications at Coca-Cola.
Other brands are putting the personal Twitter handle of the tweeter in the brand’s bio. For example, here is the bio from @statesman the Twitter handle for the Austin-American Statesman. See how they include the personal Twitter handle of their social media editor.
It’s so easy to take one minute, type a few words in and let me know who is Tweeting behind your brand.
The company I work for, National Instruments, is trying a combination of this for our handle @NIGlobal.
The personal Twitter handles of the tweeters are included in both the individual Tweet and biography.
I don’t think any of these techniques is better than the other, but I’m so glad that there are humans behind all of these brands on Twitter.
What do you think? Does it matter if there is a human behind a brand’s Twitter account?
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
ah i totally know what you mean. whenever i get a personal tweet from rosa mexicano or american airlines – i can actually feel my brand loyalty grow!!
I agree. The human element wrapped around the marketing is the most vibrant structure for social media marketing. there is an art to it and most people will soon get the hang of it. I was completely impressed with Nissan’s new website for “Leaf” their new all electric car – the page is a perfect example of good integration of marketing and social media.