This document compares Twitter and Facebook as platforms for social media engagement by businesses. It discusses the demographics and limitations of each platform. Twitter allows anyone to follow conversations but has limited media and profile information. Facebook has more users and media options but requires brands to be vigilant against hijacking and negative comments. The document provides examples of companies like Dell and Macy's using each platform successfully for customer engagement, marketing, and driving sales.

1. Social Media & the Enterprise, Part 2 Facebook vs. Twitter Choosing Platform & Strategy For Social Media Engagement Presented by Sean Gallagher sean@seanmgallagher.com

2. Twitter & Facebook Both… Offer a way to “microblog” Provide ways to network around areas of interest Can be used to engage in public conversations and engage customers and business partners Can drive traffic to commerce sites, other Websites, and social media

3. Twitter: An Open Global Conversation Twitter “timeline” is open to world unless you protect everything Anyone can “follow” anyone (unless tweets are protected) Highly searchable, trackable, instrumented Can respond directly to people, engaging a large audience – regardless of whether they “follow” you or not “ Retweet” pass-along amplifies message

4. Twitter Demographics Source: Quantcast

5. Twitter Users Are... Largely mobile (and not afraid to share where they are) Diverse education and income Gen-Y and Gen-X Twitter and similar services have been most avidly embraced by young adults. Nearly one-in-five (19%) online adults ages 18 to 24 have ever used Twitter and its ilk, as have 20% of online adults ages 25 to 34. Use of these services drops off steadily after age 35 with 10% of 35-to-44 year-olds and 5% of those ages 45 to 54 using Twitter. The decline is even more stark among older internet users; 4% of 55-to-64 year olds and 2% of those age 65 and older use Twitter. ̶ Pew Research Center

6. Twitter Limitations No differentiation between people and brands Limited in-site rich media Limited information on individuals directly available through profile Limited advertising opportunities

7. Twitter in Customer Engagement: ThingMagic RFID company started Twitter campaign to drive more traffic to blog Twitter reached a larger potential audience outside of existing customer base Web visits up 37%, 20% increase in blog email subscriptions Increased visibility to media, made it easier to pitch stories

8. Twitter & Sales: Dell Dell's @DellOutlet Twitter feed posts e-coupons for specific system deals Made adjustments to “tweets” to improve response Tested different discount levels, added deadlines Working on a Twitter-specific landing page to better measure response Over $1 million in sales attributable to Twitter traffic

9. Facebook: Mass Social Media Facebook has a much larger membership than Twitter (500 million vs. 190 million) Richer media options (embedded video, audio, photo sharing, shared link preview) Drives huge volumes of Web traffic, and has higher interest levels

10. Facebook Demographics Source: Quantcast

11. The Facebook Audience More teens Over 40 is the fastest growing demographic Tilted toward higher income Half are college-educated, half have kids

12. Facebook & Conversations Comment threads invite interaction Control over comments – can delete unwanted user posts “ Liking” a post subscribes to updates in notifications

13. Identity & Facebook Distinguishes between people, brands “ Fan Pages” for brands Collects vast amounts of relationship information Offers greater granularity in tracking preferences Taps into activity on other social networks, aggregates behavior While much of this data is “private,” users often give it away for apps, other incentives

14. Facebook & Brand Marketing More directed marketing opportunities through preference-driven advertising Pages around brands offer a way to directly contact “fans” Downside: Competitors can see who “likes” you, and target customers and key influencers Customers can share your message, reach their networks, if your content is strong

15. Facebook Limitations Some limitations on extracting information on users, compared to Twitter Brands can be hijacked – auto-fan pages and other groups Not as easily searched or mined for discussions about brands Outreach is more passive, permission-based

16. Facebook Branding Approaches Microsites embedded in “Fan Page” Apps and games Customer engagement through links, status updates, and comment

17. Customer Relationships With Facebook: Macy’s Engages customers through Wall, allows customers to post Holiday “Gift Guide” drives users to Macy’s e-commerce site Interactive apps collect user info, get them to “like” page, and permit messaging to user home page

18. Downsides to Facebook Pages Brand hijacking Open conversation means negative comments can be posted Macy’s fires Santa, comment firestorm Unmonitored areas of page with wrong settings can create opportunity for hijack Nike page photo section: hijack links, sexual content

19. Facebook Locations Built-in location-based marketing Can extend offers to mobile users for “checking in” Locations can be claimed by others, hijacked

20. Twitter vs. Facebook: Takeaways Facebook is a media site built around behavior-based advertising and marketing Facebook can be heavily customized Facebook requires vigilance against brandjacking Facebook is best suited to mature social media marketing efforts Twitter is an open forum, straightforward, with limited rich media and no presence customization Twitter advertising opportunities limited to sponsored tweets, “trending” topics, and recommended follows Twitter works well for testing social media approaches