So much of your brand identity rests on your social media presence. Sloppy management can lead to scary PR situations. Just take a look at the rogue post on the Red Cross Twitter account, where a social media coordinator posted about her drinking plans for the evening. She thought that she was logged into her personal Twitter account, but ended up blasting this tweet out to thousands of Red Cross followers. This just goes to show how easily account and post mix-ups can happen.
To make social media management even more challenging, organizations often assign people admin and manager privileges for official fan pages. These privileges must be accessed through your personal Facebook account – there is no way to log in directly to a fan page. Here are some ways you can minimize risk and manage your professional Facebook and Twitter account efficiently.
Link the Two Accounts Correctly
Log onto your professional Twitter account and click on “Settings.” Select “Profile” from the sidebar and scroll down to the Facebook section. Click on “Connect to Facebook.” This will initially connect this Twitter account to your personal Facebook, but don’t worry, you will switch things over to the official fan page shortly.
Click “Okay” and then uncheck the boxes next to “Post retweets to Facebook” and “Post to my Facebook profile.” Now click “Allow posting to one of your pages.” Click “Okay” to confirm, and select your professional Facebook fan page from the dropdown menu. Check off “Post to My Facebook Page.” Now all of your organization’s tweets will be shared directly on the official Facebook fan page, rather than on your personal account.
Understand Platform Strengths
Some organizations hope to save time and effort by just posting the same content on both Facebook and Twitter. However, these platforms are very different tools, reaching audiences in completely separate ways. Content that is successful on Facebook may not fare so well on Twitter. For example, think about how you want to display an outside link to high quality, branded content. When you paste a link into a Facebook status update, it generates an image preview and a website description. Your Twitter followers don’t get these content extras by viewing a link on Twitter. In fact, Twitter is all about brevity – you are even expected to trim the fat off URLs with Twitter-based web apps like bit.ly. If you’d like people to slow down and leave in-depth comments, then Facebook is your best bet.
However, if you are getting the word out about a quick promo campaign and hoping to entice audiences to make impulse clicks, then Twitter is a far more effective platform. Rope others into the conversation by mentioning other Twitter users. Make your tweets easier for people to find by sprinkling in some extremely relevant hashtags. Twitter’s support team recommends a maximum of two hashtags per post, so that you don’t dilute your message with too many keywords.
Double Check Usernames
It is risky to manage social media accounts from your personal technology, because there is always the chance that you might mix up your personal and professional accounts. However, using your own device for work is exceedingly common, since social media never sleeps. Organizations need access to it 24/7 to keep track of current trends and audience communications. Before you post something to a social media account, make sure that you are logged in correctly. This can help mitigate accidental posts and oversharing.
Put your mind at ease by observing these professional social media processes. In our current culture of sharing, it is easy to get carried away, link accounts incorrectly, or post content that doesn’t accurately reflect your brand. Does a swimming pool company have any relation with coffee or electronic devices? Take your time as you set up these accounts and don’t forget to play to the strengths of both platforms.
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