Twitter turning off LinkedIn auto updates is not just good – it’s GREAT!
Things are always changing rapidly in the world of social media networks – and pretty much every time I deliver a social media training course I have to update my slides to reflect the latest changes.
The recent development out of Twitter and LinkedIn which came to life on the 29th June – relates to Twitter updating its third party application strategies – which ultimately means that Twitter updates will no longer auto post to Linked In. Yea ;)
(yes, I am very happy about this – and here’s why).
Use the right channel for the right medium
As a marketer, any savvy marketer and communications strategist would advise when creating any campaign that you need to be sure that you are using the right medium, along with the right message into the right audience. Very simply – use the right tools for the job.
Twitter is fast, fluid and a bit of a floozy
Twitter is a fluid and fast medium – there are over 250 million tweets a day – and each tweet is in the spotlight for about 19 seconds. And indeed typically, the majority of people you are communicating with on your Twitter account (your followers) you have never met. They may be influencers and play a very real part in sharing and contributing to your business and life – however, it’s unlikely they are your ‘personal business contacts’. The ratio of personal contacts to people you’ve never met is probably very low – I’d say my Twitter account is around 95% virtual contacts and 5% personal business contacts.
Also - the way I tweet varies. If I’m at my desk catching up, then I am likely to share about 5-10 times a day. However, if I’m training and sharing links and info for delegates via a hashtag, then it may be up to 20-25 times a day. And if I’m at an event and following a hashtag – then it could be more, dependent on the pace of the conversation.
LinkedIn is your professional network of connections
LinkedIn is very, very different to Twitter. The majority of connections on my LinkedIn account I have met – so conversely the 95% - 5% balance switches (95% of contacts I have actually met and 5% are those that I’ve been introduced to via my connections). These contacts are precious. LinkedIn is my network of business connections that I have met, done business with and continue to do business with. When I share something to my network of business connections – I really do think about it.
Sharing my Tweets with my LinkedIn Connections is not targeted – and if anything, turns me from professional to spammer
So imagine you’re a LinkedIn connection of mine. I am training and sharing links and info (targeted to an audience of delegates) via a hashtag – and let’s say that as many others have done in the past, I have my Twitter account auto connected to my LinkedIn account.
During the day I am talking and having conversations with delegates via Twitter – these conversations make absolutely no sense whatsoever to the innocent LinkedIn onlooker. Effectively, my precious personal business contacts would be receiving 20-30 status updates from me, looking in on the fluid and fast conversations I am having around a hashtag (which is also Twitter terminology/process).
Are all these status updates relevant for my precious LinkedIn connections? Errr...No!
Will my precious LinkedIn connections get fed up with my verbal rantings that make absolutely no sense to them? Err...Yes!
Do I come across as a professional that knows what she’s doing with these far reaching and highly targeted communication channels? Err... No!
You get the picture.
So that’s why I’m happy Twitter has broken this link – and means that there’s no more lazy Twitter / LinkedIn linking.
My advice is to be highly targeted with your messaging at all times. Your audience on Twitter is different to your audience on LinkedIn and indeed your audience on Facebook.
These three networks all behave in a very different way – they each have their own ‘etiquette’ and as a user you should respect that.
Let’s not mix messages with irrelevant mediums. So...no more lazy Tweeting guys – you’re going to have to get thinking about audience, relevance and messaging.
Got any questions about how to target the right messages to the right audience? Happy with this new development? Share your views - look forward to chatting.
PS: Of course, on the LinkedIn help site – LinkedIn advise that you can still post to Twitter – by simply posting initially to LinkedIn and then pushing that message out to Twitter via an application on LinkedIn that allows you to do that. Which if you are sharing information that is relevant for both audiences is perfectly acceptable. But do heed my advice re audience, relevance and messaging.
@Michelle Carvill is owner and Marketing Director at Carvill Creative – the online visibility experts. A digital marketing and design agency based in Maidenhead, Berkshire. The agency covers all aspects of marketing strategy and online visibility - covering social media marketing and social media training, user focused website planning and conversion focused website design.
Want to talk to the team at Carvill Creative about your social media activity or training needs? We’re happy to chat, so simply ‘get in touch’.
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