Twitter ID: Personal vs. Professional

With more businesses emerging within the Twitterverse, a question of strategy arises: is it better to interact as a person or business? Our picture IDs on Twitter are very small, but they make significant difference in accessibility to others in your field, or “searchability”, and perceived authenticity from your followers. So if you wander how to begin or are considering a shift in approach, let’s evaluate.

1. When appearing as a Person

Pro: Authenticity. With so many timed, or spammed tweets bombarding us about maximizing SEO and tripling our income through social media in 2 weeks, it’s a relief to find real people in business, truly networking with others. Using your own photo is instantly  more personable, making it easier to harbor conversation. Above that, it is also easier to remember faces. With our home streams constantly being refilled, sometimes by thousands of Tweeple, faces are definitely easier to retain than names.

Con: This can leave a gap in specific business field recognition. When going under your actual name instead of your company name, You have to work a little harder to be seen AS a business. #hashtags are you best friend to place you in business-related list results (i.e. #marketing #branding #smallbiz), A tiny sentence about being a business owner in the ‘about me’ won’t do enough for you; a customized twitter background FOR your business is crucial, so when someone visits your page, they cannot miss your line of work.

2. When appearing as a Business

Pro: By identifying as your business, it is much easier to be located. Twitter has the mentality of a bar; when seeking out specific types of people to follow among the masses, we look briefly and move on. They are it or they’re not. Likewise, they’ll follow you or they won’t. When presented as a business, your are easier seen in the “at a glance” environment of fast track social media.

Con: Being located doesn’t necessarily yield more interaction. It seems that business-faced tweeters don’t converse with their followers as much. They are heavier on link-tweeting to their line of work, and related articles. This is helpful when they supply legitimate content, but it may get monotonous. Over time, following them can be like watching simultaneous commercials for the same thing. But, if you do have a conversational business front it can be peculiar for followers not to know if you are a male or female. It’s not a deal breaker, but it can create a gap in effective networking.

All in all, if you proffer your social media to be more social, it is better to be a person with a Business. Surely there are exceptions to every rule, and ultimately you should utilize whatever formula widens your business related playing field. Twitter holds the very real possibility of acquiring actual business, so using strategy can’t hurt. If you’re still on the fence, try a trial week of each possibility, and solidify your choice afterward. Remember, either way you choose, it then boils down to the content you supply to your followers.

Happy Networking!