I’ve begun to think strategically about my social networking accounts and how to use each one most effectively.
People are most effective when they focus on their strengths. The social network tools also have unique strengths and it makes sense for me to develop a strategy to maximizes their effectiveness.
This is going to be a gradual process. I’ll add observations as they occur to me and tweak my strategy as I go along.
Observation 1 – I have many more Facebook Friends than Twitter followers.
Observation 2 – Many of those who interact with my Facebook feed are not on my Twitter list.
Observation 3 – The majority of those who follow me on Twitter are not Facebook friends.
Observation 4 – Nearly all of my Twitter connections are related to my professional persona.
Observation 5 – Many of my Facebook friends have nothing to do with my professional activities.
Observation 6 - For business connections who are Facebook friends, it is often more effective to ping them on Facebook than it is via email.
Observation 7 – I am personally annoyed when I check Facebook and Twitter and find every post from some people who are on both to be redundant.
Observation 8 – I am annoyed with some Twitterers who never seem to have an original thought and 100% of their contribution are Retweets or pasted URLs.
Observation 9 - It is far too easy to become obsessed with Facebook conversations that are not productive.
Observation 10 – Twitter seems to be a good tool for networking and connecting with people I don’t know who might either be interesting in themselves or interested in me.
So, the first element in my Social Networking Strategy Plan is to focus the majority of my Twitter activity on professional networking and mining for interesting new people.
Facebook is a mix of personal friends and professional contacts with whom I share some personal information, so I’ve not yet formulated a “policy” for FB posts. Stay tuned for more.
What are the “feedback” ratios on Facebook and Twitter? What value is the feedback for what you are hoping or looking for? Are you looking to build community connections or a delivery system for ideas? What place do you see personal and family comments or do you hope to keep a blend of professional and family?
Why did you leave Linkedin out of the analysis? The messages I recieve from Linkedin connections are more fruitful business than Facebook or Twitter.
You know, I didn’t even consider LinkedIn because for me it is all business with little of no social interaction. I can’t think of a single benefit I’ve gained from LinkedIn. Although i know others have used it to their advantage.
Arnold – excellent questions about the feedback ratios. It’s easier to judge on Facebook and I suspect my FB feedback ratio is much higher than on Twitter.
FB are people who know me and respond as if we’re carrying on a conversation.
Twitter (for me) is less of a conversation and more of a ‘cocktail party” where short little conversations are going on and everyone is looking to connect with people on a “trial basis.”
Still working through it – thanks for the thought starter.
Further reflection. I use Twitter to graze for information but it seems more difficult to build community. Facebook gives an opportunity to comment on comments and tends to build community more easily…if one can easily sort through trivia. I’ve been “put off” somewhat by Facebook because of the Trivia. (Maybe that is more a commentary on who my “Friends” are rather than the network.)
I will post the same content on Twitter and Facebook (at times) since they are frequently different audiences since some use Facebook but not Twitter. For me both “audiences” have an overlap in interest so it is difficult to separate.