Should You Be on Twitter?

Step away from the computer – hands where I can see them. Move slowly, no one gets hurt.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a question posed to me more often than ever before: should I be on Twitter?

While most seem to chirp out “Of course! C’mon! It’s fun! Everyone should be on Twitter!!!!” [notice the multiple exclamation points], my first response is generally something along the lines of:

Oh, hell no.

Why?

Because if you don’t know WHY you’re there, you can’t understand why you should stay.

Social media requires a strategy, whether you’re Suzy Sunshine looking to find fellow knitting fans or Bob the Business Owner seeking new customers.

Ask yourself right now: why are YOU on Twitter?

I research, compile and present social media strategies to a wide range of businesses throughout the year and I always enter each research stage with one assumption: this business should NOT be on Twitter. That is, unless I find evidence to the contrary. I don’t want my clients wasting their time with a social medium that is not conducive to their goals and…well…a waste of time. Establishing yourself in the social mediasphere is an investment. As I recently stated in a presentation at Chicks Who Click, you can’t have ROI without the I. If you have the choice between pissing away 15 minutes a day on Twitter and going to get a taco, go get the taco. It’ll at least leave you sated – which 15 minutes a day in the social mediasphere will NEVER, ever do.

Here are five questions to ask yourself if someone tells you that you simply MUST be on Twitter. Please kick them in the shins and then review this list. After all – it’s your time and something you can never get more of.

Question 1: What do you think Twitter is?

If you think it’s something dirty (heh – “twitter”), if you think it’s a waste of time, if you don’t know…get clarification. And here’s the shocker: the answer is different for everyone. What Twitter is to ME isn’t the same thing it is to the awesome folks over at Good Belly. Clarify and then personify.

Question 2: How much time do you have to spend on social media each day?

Social media – and especially Twitter – is SOCIAL. That implies dialogue. Interaction. And in order to interact, you have to get to know people and break the ice a bit. Way too many people treat it like a hit-and-run accident or a one night stand. Relationships are not borne from broadcast headlines and self-indulgent posts. They’re borne from connecting on a personal level with your audience and THAT takes time. It’s the I in ROI – what are you prepared to I?

Question 3: What do you expect to get out of your Twitter account?

New customers? More site traffic? Blog comments? If you don’t know before you begin, take a minute to determine what you envision to be the end result. When you know the answer to this, question 4 will quickly answer itself.

Question 4: Is your target demographic on Twitter?

I recently worked with Doyle Albee at Metzger & Associates on a social media strategy for a high profile, international brand. Our initial thoughts? Twitter? Hell yes! The end result after 5 weeks of research? Hell no. Their target demographic lived in a niche bulletin board system and not on Twitter – and there were other ways to access key bloggers for product coverage. It’s NOT for everyone and we were truly delighted to tell the client: don’t waste your time here – spend it wisely over there.

Question 5: How will Twitter integrate into your other online presences?

Blogs, Facebook Fan Pages, Tumblr accounts, online promotions…How will you integrate Twitter into these efforts as well? No online presence is an island and one needs the support of others to be the most successful possible. If you don’t know about Facebook Fan Pages (also NOT for everybody), check out this killer post from Tamar Weinberg at Techipedia on building a Facebook Fan Page. If you’re working with a social media consultant, PR firm or ad agency who’s telling you that you should be on Twitter and cannot answer that question…shit, I hope you don’t have a contract. Fire ‘em.

And now to you, reader: what other questions should people ask before they dive-in face first into Twitter? Share you comments below and share with your friends so they can add their insights as well!

Brian Burns

I enjoyed this post, Redhead, and in general, agree with the sentiment that companies are better served to do a thorough evaluation of each tool (such as twitter), rather than just jumping at the hot new thing.

However, I'd also likely caution against a company abandoning a tool like twitter upon a single evaluation of its lack of direct utility, as I find It's often only over time that the value of twitter reveals itself, and its benefits may even be different than first anticipated.
Nemra

Yes, nice point! I just started using Twitter for a week as a best news aggregation tool ! There are few sites / authors i like to read, and instead of opening multiple pages to see what they wrote or not in a few days, i just follow them on twitter. May be i will start using it as a communication tool in the future, but i use it now exactly because it gives me a value!
Victor Panlilio

Twitter is just the latest toolset for people who understood The Cluetrain Manifesto in 1999. The sad part is, if you get on the wrong train, it doesn't matter how fast you run down the corridor.
John Knight

Great article, I like how realistic it is. Not everyone should be on Twitter and the questions outlined really make you think from a personal and business level as to what you want to accomplish before diving in. I have been on Twitter for almost a year, it started of as a work thing to investigate, but I quickly became a fan and have seen personal value by the connections I have made thru it. I also like the honest approach of telling clients not to be on it, I think too many companies and people thing because it is a hot topic you need to be there, not true.
The Redhead

Thanks for stopping by, John. And you're right - hot topic or not, not everyone needs to be wearing hipster jeans!
Erroin Martin

I cannot begin to tell you how many business I work with that just think Twitter is a shouting platform. It is an engagement and they need to realize there are now perfect plans and have to jump in with goals in mind. You cannot learn to swim if you do not get into the water. Right now I see marketers getting the most out of twitter because they a social people in general. Besides having a plan businesses have to be free of their inhibitions. The key to social media is being social and most business are "afraid" of what happens when people become social. Business fear a lack of control over the conversation.

One a side note -- One of the worst abuses is the people who use scheduled tweets to shout out into the crowd about their services. Those people should have their email accounts and telephone numbers given to the worst spammers and telemarketers on the planet.
The Redhead

Great remarks - you can't control what your customers are saying, but you can improve your reputation in how you choose to deal with it! Let your customers talk - you might be surprised at what you learn when you sit down to listen!
Erroin Martin

You would be amazed about how many businesses are afraid to listen to their customers.
The Redhead

No, I wouldn't ;-)
Irina Jordan

Very insightful and to the point - thanks. I'd like to add that not only companies need to ask this question but individuals as well. You're your own brand. Decide beforehand how you want to come across. Remember: Google now shows social media results as well.
The Redhead

Great reminder on social search, Irina. Thanks for stopping by again!
Irant

Another excellent post, Red. Very informative, and the message about figuring out WHAT you are trying to do before you decide HOW you are going to do it is a key takeaway. Motion is, indeed, not progress . . .

K
The Redhead

Doc, doc! It hurts when I go like this!

Well, stop going like that!

Indeed, Kevin. :)
SteveO

I like the "this business should not be on twitter" approach. I would add that its not just demographic it is the "social technographic" profile of your taget customers, from content creators to inactives. Social technographics cuts across demographic profiles. I agree with what I think you are alluding to that the social media strategy needs to be and intergral part of the companies communications strategy and mix and also be consistent with the business and marketing strategy and brand.

To a do it yourself company, NPO, etc, I have recommended them reading "Groundswell" by Forrester Research. Couple years old but still relevant for business.

If the company is not going to use social media but is potentially worried about its' online reputation, I'd recommend using a social media monitoring service such as "Social Mention." I believe they still have a free side to their service if they're cheap bastards.
The Redhead

Awesome point on "social technographics." I think it goes hand in hand with demographics - you can't consider one without considering the other. Welcome, Steve - thanks for stopping by.
AndreaVahl

Great questions that everyone should be asking! It's too funny when you talk to businesses who want to get on Twitter because they've heard so much about it in the media. Then you start asking how much time they want to invest and it's 5-10 minutes once a week. Twitter isn't for them. Thanks for the great post!
Ari Herzog

At 10 minutes a week, Twitter may not be the right medicine... but it could, if one is using the feed for broadcasting stuff that came from a blog or from Facebook, and only uses Twitter to reply to messages. Depending on the business, that *could* be 10 minutes a week... though 10 minutes a day is more of an ideal minimum.
The Redhead

Ari, don't kid yourself - 10 minutes A DAY is still crap. It doesn't even come close to putting Twitter in the position of being a medium worth the time investment. for 10 MINUTES a day people are still better off going to get the taco. In my opinion, of course.
The Redhead

Yes, yes, yes. It's the "I" in ROI that most businesses miss. Like a website - having one doesn't entitle you to traffic. Thanks for stopping by!
Megan Carpenter

This is a great point. There are occasionally people/companies that probably shouldn't be on Twitter. It's nice to have a focused approach to social media.
Like KeepingYouAwake, I started out Tweeting silly things about my day, then started finding people that were really using Twitter, not letting it use them (and their time). Twitter can be a great tool for learning, sharing, and educating, but it can easily be a time waster if people don't have a strategy.
The Redhead

And I don't know about you, but I don't have much time for time wasting!
KeepingYouAwake

I was excited about this article when I read the title. I decided not so long ago to figure out Twitter and what it was all about. I'd started a long time ago, posting the same idiotic points of my day that so many still do. Later I moved to posting quips and comments that I thought fit for a speech at a reception, or at least a stage in a karaoke bar. Finally I started talking to people. Now that's primarily what I do. In addition, I use it to promote my blog and find other interesting people to read. If you don't get it, understand it first and see what it CAN do for you. You're dead-on. :)
The Redhead

Thanks for stopping by! Understanding the platform is key to finding its purpose in your social media plan. Welcome to Redhead Writing!
theclimbergirl

Brilliant, as always. The only thing I'd add is that my basic assumption used to be, "This business should not be on Twitter." Now, my basic assumption is that "This business should be reputation monitoring on Twitter." I suppose that varies by industry and business size... there are businesses for whom even reputation monitoring would not have the ROI to make it worthwhile. But, I have seen a shift for me in my own expectations as a consumer... I presume, at this point, that companies ARE listening.
The Redhead

You are 100% right with regards to reputation monitoring. Sending you a high five!