Brand Twitter Profiles Multiplying: How Much Is Too Much?

How many Twitter profiles should a brand maintain? One? Two? Forty-four? A new report from Brandwatch, Brands on Twitter 2013 , shows a growing trend that could prove costly if not managed correctly. The report reveals that the number of brands now using multiple Twitter profiles has increased from 7% to 63% since 2011, with Dell topping out the list of the more than 250 US and UK brands profiled with 44 different accounts ranging from one for their corporate blog on to various levels of customer support.

The purpose behind the large number of accounts is a good one: to deliver more personalized engagement on social media. But the question is, will most consumers locate and use the correct Twitter account for them, and what happens if they don’t? How connected, well-monitored and responsive is each and every persona?

The number of Twitter handles offered by Dell is an extreme case, but the expectations for customer engagement via any branded social media property are growing just as rapidly as the proliferation of personas. The potential problem lies in that, according to the report, of the 250-plus brands profiled, a quarter of them are still using Twitter solely for broadcasting, not as a two-way street for communication and/or customer care. The ten most prolific brands out of the most-followed brands on Twitter tweeted every six to 20 minutes, yet none of them made the list for the most engaged brands.

In addition, according to the report, 38% of them use no tool or solution to manage their social media engagement. This seems like a dangerous game for brand reputation management and response. How long can major brands keep playing without suffering a huge loss?

Managing Multiple Personalities
The other concern this report raises, in addition to timely customer care and engagement and crisis/brand reputation management, is consistency of the brand voice and information, and then also capturing complaints, issues, feedback and praise across multiple social media channels to achieve a 360-view of the customer.

The Brandwatch report notes that of the organizations that do use social media engagement or management tools, more than half have switched tools during the last 12 months. Of the brands that used a single tool in 2011, two-thirds were using a different tool in 2012, and this trend continues into 2013.

Big brands have a positive purpose behind offering personalized and specialized Twitter personas. The question is how well can they manage their multiple personalities.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/twitter/brand-twitter-profiles-multiplying-much-much-0602037?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brand-twitter-profiles-multiplying-much-much