Why Do You Have A Twitter Account?

Social is not Business Media

You’ve got to be on social media – it’s an ante in today’s consulting profession.  Get your brand out-there.  Get “posted” and “shared”. 

I’ve heard all of these admonishments and I’ve invested in a reasonable digital footprint: website, blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and others.  However, Twitter has been a sideliner for me.  I’ve had an account since January 2010 but I’ve barely used it.

Framing the Twitter Experiment

Several months ago I was leading a workshop where the majority of participants were “millennial digital marketers.”  I’m always fascinated with how smartphones have become a human appendage; however, this group took it to a new level.  It was constantly being fed by Twitter. 

“Ok” I said, “I’ve got to figure this thing out.”  So, being a disciplined consultant I designed a test.  My assumption was that exposure on Twitter would attract “followers” that would generate new business opportunities.  To this end I framed a very specific challenge for myself with the following features:

• I would Tweet a “management insight” everyday for three months.  Criteria for the insight were:
• It had to be personal; based on my experience only; a true “Bud-ism”
• No parroting.  I would not quote others nor would I re-tweet
• The insight had to be original and of high quality
• I would measure success through Twitter metrics.  I wanted to:
• Double my number of followers, and
• Exponentially increase my “views” and “re-tweets.”

What I Learned From Twitter

Well I’ve reached the end of my three-month test and the results have been mixed, at best.  I’ve learned a lot like:

1. There’s no sense posting business tweets on weekends or holidays
2. I could increase my views by personalizing them, like starting them with “in my experience” or by attaching a photo – personals were best
3. Although I increased my followers by 50% I wonder about the quality:
• I got many media, aggregator types of followers who had thousands following them, but their re-tweets never resulted in a bounce-back to me.  The re-tweets just seemed to be filling the Twitter-sphere
• The valuable followers usually had less than 100 followers of their own.  They seemed to be quality practitioners who were interested in the insights and were my best source of “re-tweets”
• Some of the best exposure came through my links with other channels such as my followers on Facebook.  In fact, I’ve gained a new appreciation for the business power of Facebook
• The weekly metric reports from Twitter create a drive to play the game.  The reports provide an incentive to do everything I didn’t want to do.  Specifically, if you want to get re-tweeted you need to name, quote and re-tweet others.  My value to others was the opportunity to promote themselves
4. My biggest disappointment came from my established contact list.  Although I’ve promoted my Twitter experiment to them – not one of them added me as a follower.  I discovered that most of them don’t have a Twitter account and those that do are passive users

Main Message

My overall take-away from the experiment is that Twitter is not useful as a branding tool for me.  I found that Twitter is truly social media, not business media.  Twitter is full of unintelligible hash-tags, links and re-tweets.  When you're on Twitter if you don’t know what you're looking for, you’ll never find it.

Here’s an anecdote that captures my Twitter experiment.  Several weeks into my experiment I called a friend for some advice.  He worked for a digital marketing company and I used him several years ago to help me link YouTube to my website.  He was one of the first that I “followed” on Twitter.  He puts out 2-3 tweets each day.

When I called him, the initial conversation was confusing.  The fog cleared when he said: “Bud I haven’t worked for that company in 2.5 years and I haven’t opened my twitter account since.”  His daily tweets are parroted feeds from aggregators.

I have learned a lot from my experiment.  I’ll continue to post on Twitter because it’s fun and it challenges me to keep developing my list of precise and concise beliefs about management.  Also, I’m now much more savvy about where to focus my business branding on social media – and it’s not on Twitter.

2013 – The Social Media Generation Joins the Workforce

Connection Obsession

Oh, oh – our workforce is changing, again.

The last decade has been characterized by record low employee disengagement.  In general, employees just don’t care about creating shareholder value.  According to the research they draw paychecks and try to balance the demands of work with the demands of their life style.

Disengaged, yes; but also diligent.  Most of our current workforce comes to work, even virtually, trying to get a job done.  Our workers may have been entitled by their parents but there was an understanding, even if resented, that there was a hierarchy that needed to be appeased.

Social Media Generation

I think this is changing.  I think we’re seeing the beginnings of the “social media generation” hitting the workforce.  What I’ve seen recently is an emerging trend - even though it’s blurry.

The most intimate relationship is with their smartphone  

We’ve spent a lot of time recently in business understanding the technological impact of social media. We can now hit your i-phone with a special drink promotion as you walk past Starbucks.  We’re constantly alone together.  For many this is a “wow” phenomenon; for “kids”, it’s just life.

But what of the human (shall we say “social”) side of social media at work – that is, beyond our obsession with surfing, tweeting, and Facebooking on the job.

Those entering the workforce in 2013 simply don’t think the same as the rest of us. They have a need, and expectation to be connected.  It may be a form of narcissism, but they want to be connected, and known to be connected.

… kids have grown up inside an adult bubble

Many have grown up inside an "adult bubble" where they have been encouraged to connect by saying what they think - to their parent's and adult friends.

What they don't realize is that they were never judged inside the "adult bubble" - but they will be when they enter the workforce.  This "connecting without judgement” often means publishing without a filter or discretion.  Why else do we see endless lewd partying pictures or a frivolous obsession with kittens?

Quo Vadis?

Social media is the great leveler; however, organization life is, well, “organized.”  So, what impact will this new generation have on organization life?   

• Will the new workforce really understand "confidentiality" and the need to protect "business intelligence?”
• Will “whistleblower" laws be the least of a corporations confidentiality concern as we see stuff in the media that we never dreamed of? 
• Will we be working in “open landscape” offices so our recruits can feel connected even when they’re not on the phone?
• Will communications with the boss be only through curt text messages?
• Will employees only commit to a one year horizon as they check their phone for more interesting opportunities in the ether?

I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I do know that managers and Human Resource departments aren’t ready.

This is going to be fun!

Social Media's non-Communications

When did I become a luddite? I don't know the exact day but it was sometime during December 2011. Let me explain.

My business depends on my network. I have a platinum list of clients and I pride myself in staying in touch with them. They provide me with work so I treat them with care and respect.

I don't flood my clients with a weekly mass email message. I craft personal notes with some value added information that I think will be of interest to them. Yes, this is inefficient. It takes a lot of time but I believe that it pays off.

I went through such a cycle last month. Usually about 60%+ of my clients return a quick note. I use this as an opportunity to enhance the relationship.

However, over the past year I have noticed a decline in their rate of response, and last month it was terrible. Likely less than 20%. What's going on? Sure, people are flooded with messages and become immune to what they don't want to see. They choose what to look at. But are they looking at what I send?

Well, I've tested this with some of my contacts and they assure me that they saw my message. So why didn't they write back? I have an untested theory. For the moment I'm blaming social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Here's my theory. I think we're becoming a total pull society when it comes to communicating - even with friends and relatives. We can be fully informed of the activities of others without having the obligation of "interaction." If I want to know what my son is doing I check his Facebook page or read his tweets or texts. There's no need for me to call and get into an unpredictable interaction. I get the information I want and I don't even need to leave my fingerprints. He knows that I'll pull whatever information I want. End of transaction.

I think that this one-sided communication of social media is infecting business. I think we've morphed into a new understanding of business relationships. It's becoming "alright" to consume business information, even from friends, without feeling obliged to respond. You have pulled the information you want and the assumption is there is no expectation for a response.

I don't think I like this new world. I'm going to smash a loom.