For each of the aforementioned platforms, I've found several articles and blog posts espousing a number of strategies and practices which businesses can adopt if they wish to augment their presence on social media. Rather than simply reproduce each list, I've attempted to conflate them and postulate the closest I can manage to a consensus for each platform.
For Facebook, I've arrived at the following:
- Share vs. Like, Polls, etc.: The blog at Wishpond says that a "share vs. like" post—encouraging users to either like a post or share it depending on whether they want to "vote" for option A or option B, respectively, in a binary of products—is an efficient way to drum up brand engagement on Facebook. Wishpond goes on to say that using this strategy, Walmart saw a 650% increase in Facebook likes. Another form of competition-based posts is opinion polling—similar to the "share vs. like" post, with more than just the two options. A simple means of procuring rough market research, a poll will start with a picture (say, of three or four different but somewhat similar products) and ask users what their favorite of the bunch is. Often times, brand engagement can even be achieved without any need for the competitive aspect, in such ways as offering users a "sneak peek" at an upcoming product line, or by offering users some manner of "advice" (a recipe, for example). Wishpond cites a study of 682 Facebook posts which found that posts containing advice were shared 522% more than non-advice related posts. Above all, it is important to note that images are incredibly effective on Facebook—Moz says that photo posts receive, on average, 39% more engagement. Articles found in Forbes and Post Planner seem to agree with the importance of brand engagement for businesses on Facebook, be it competitive or otherwise, and Entrepreneur even suggests keeping outright promotional posts to a minimum, instead opting for "eye candy, friendly greetings, and other shares from around the internet that consumers will likely find of interest." With Facebook, it's all about encouraging interactivity and communicating directly with your audience—which, in a way, is the single biggest benefit of social media for businesses.
- Establishing brand identity: This may be applicable to business on all social media, but especially on Facebook, where user profiles and identities can be and often are incredibly detailed and intricate, every brand or business must be able to speak directly to its unique audience by establishing a unique brand identity. Post Planner outlines the importance of determining the tone and identity of a business' page, as well as what content incites the best possible reaction from a business' unique audience, and, perhaps most importantly, taking the time to plan out posts in advance in an effort to establish continuity and consistency within the brand identity.
- Avoiding lengthy posts: One of the key differences between Facebook and many other social media platforms is the fact that Facebook allows its users to conduct posts with no character limit. However, this isn't a feature that businesses should take advantage of—Forbes says that a "long, rambling" post is not likely to garner the sort of attention one would wish to receive for his or her business on Facebook. Instead, Forbes suggests adopting a sort of self-imposed character limit of 100-250 characters, since these are typically the posts which receive the most attention. This is especially efficient since more than a third of Facebook users are using mobile devices, and in the case of mobile users, shorter posts are undoubtedly far more convenient.
- Cover photos, profile pictures, page composition: This one is simple—since the cover photo holds prime real estate on a Facebook profile page, and in many ways is responsible for the "first impression" made by a Facebook profile, it should be one of the most important considerations made by any business with regards to its Facebook presence. The cover photo (and the profile photo, as well) should strike the delicate balance between being a solid yet simple representation and introduction of the brand to newcomers, and inciting brand awareness in long-time fans. Overall, a brand's Facebook page, which can be customized in myriad ways, should be composed in a way that speaks to the brand's identity. This applies to all aspects of a brand's page: the profile picture, the cover photo, the timeline, the "about" section, the photo albums or timeline photos, etc.
- Geo-location/geo-targeting/universal appeal: Again, these strategies may be applicable to business on all social media, but they has been used extensively by businesses on Facebook. Intentionally limiting a brand's target audience creates exclusivity, says Wishpond, which gives way to greater brand engagement. Geo-targeting can be achieved through the inclusion of specific photos or hashtags, localized language, or niche subject matter, and through Facebook's "add targeting" function, which limits the targeted demographics by age, location, gender, et al. On the other hand, larger businesses—including multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola—can benefit by "appealing to the Facebook world at large," casting a larger net and ensuring appeal to as many users as possible.
For Twitter, I've compiled the following list of strategies:
- Tweets That Resonate: Twitter's business page suggests "combining exciting useful content with an engaging, unique tone to emotionally connect with your audience." So, like Facebook, audience engagement is paramount for businesses on Twitter. However, it is important to note the vast differences in format and presentation between Facebook and Twitter. With regards to the latter, "prompt and timely" Tweets lend themselves to the most engagement from users. Twitter is less "fussy" and more "to-the-point" than Facebook, for lack of better words—as such, the most effective Tweets from a business should follow suit.
- Short and Sweet: Considering Twitter's general penchant for brevity, this strategy should come as no surprise: keep your Tweets short and sweet. Twitter's business page says that "creativity loves constraint, and simplicity is at [Twitter's] core." Twitter's 140-character limit means that businesses will definitely have to get creative with their Tweets if they want their messages to resonate with users. The business page also cites a report by Buddy Media which found that Tweets shorter than 100 characters receive a 17% higher engagement rate. The example posed by Twitter is a Tweet by e-commerce driven apparel company Bonobos: "19 flavors. #washedchinos #bonobos [Instagram link]." The message is immediate, effective, and resonant—"our chino pants are available in 19 new washes"—all in under 100 characters.
- Tweet often: The Twitter business page says that Tweet frequency depends on several factors such as a business' audience, its purpose, and its objectives. This is a given; however, a "good basic rule" given by the business page is to keep the frequency at between three and five Tweets per day.
- Less Structure is Better: Mashable suggests that a business' Twitter presentation can appear disingenuous and "inhuman" if it is too structured and mechanical. This may turn users off—so to speak—and as such, it is suggested that one should treat Twitter relationships the way they would a more intimate, personal relationship: less emphasis on planning and structure, more emphasis on accessibility and relatability. Of course, planning, integration, and even structure are important, but only insofar as they do not lend themselves to a Twitter feed that feels restrictive.
- The 80/20 Rule: Mashable's Michael Brito also suggests what he calls the 80/20 rule: 80% of a business' tweets should be, to some extent, conversational and personal, and 20% should be about the actual business in question. Rather than "pushing out one-way marketing messages about your product," Brito suggests "[asking] questions, [being] personal, and [engaging] people naturally within the Twitter community." Otherwise, Brito says, costumers won't listen to what you have to say.
- Tracking trends: Twitter is all about trends. After all, the hashtag started with Twitter, so it stands to reason that the platform itself would be characterized by topicality and of-the-moment conversational trends. "Any enterprise or medium-sized business should invest in a paid tracking service [...] to better track Twitter conversations, identify trends, measure sentiment, and to get a quantifiable picture of what is going on in the social web," Brito says.
These lists are by no means definitive—there are countless articles and lists on the Web containing any number of different strategies for businesses on social media which may even contradict some of those listed above. However, these lists serve a further function, and that is to highlight some of the difference between Facebook and Twitter, especially as business-minded people are concerned.
Going off of these lists alone, the differences become quite apparent. Facebook seems the more structured, formal, and "adult" of the two media. It lends itself to a much more advanced level of detail than does Twitter: for example, the maintenance of a Facebook page's composition, which can speak volumes of a brand, is a relatively intricate process. The lack of a character limit means that the average post can be (and often are) far more in-depth and generally informative than the average Tweet. Further, that one must first "like" a page before meaningfully engaging with it is indicative of a key characteristic of Facebook: it is chiefly about establishing, building, and maintaining relationships. The emphasis on photo-sharing and competition-based engagement (especially with regards to the subject of our discussion) speaks to a sense of immediacy that is generally lacking in Facebook, and is more characteristic of Twitter.
Indeed, Twitter is the more immediate of the two media. The 140-character limit creates a sense of constraint, whereby Tweets become more direct and to-the-point in their messages. The brief nature of the subject matter, together with its emphasis on community (i.e. Twitter is the "digital global village") and hyper-real time, means that Tweets often give rise to trends. As such, Twitter tends to feel more "loose," informal, and conducive to fleeting conversation rather than the cultivation of relationships.
Links:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234532
http://blog.wishpond.com/post/58738215261/11-awesome-facebook-post-examples-critiques-best-practic
http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-social-media/facebook
http://www.postplanner.com/how-facebook-pages-succeed-with-13-simple-best-practices/
http://www.postplanner.com/how-facebook-pages-succeed-with-13-simple-best-practices/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/thesba/2014/05/05/5-content-tips-for-your-facebook-business-page/
https://business.twitter.com/best-practices
http://mashable.com/2009/06/24/twitter-brand-best-practices/
http://mashable.com/2009/06/24/twitter-brand-best-practices/
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