Business Relationship versus Brand Identity

Message Outreach & Response

You must already be aware that the number of currently active users on Twitter is literally half of the number of users on Facebook. That is 1 billion versus 500 million. So the difference seems pretty clear, or does it?

Facebook clearly gives you an opportunity to spread your message over a wider target market, yet the response time is much faster for Twitter. In case of Facebook, your message might reach 200 prospects in a two days; Twitter will spread the word in a matter of hours. Depending on the nature of your message, more people will retweet the message in the least amount of time. In case of Facebook, the number of responses on a particular post will increase eventually over time.

For this reason, the timing and frequency of posts is also important for each platform. Due to this difference in the way people respond, tweets tend to be more short-lived and timely while Facebook posts can survive for longer.

Business Relationship versus Brand Identity

The reason, Facebook got so popular with the businesses as well as the consumer was its ability to build relationships on a more personal level. While it is important for businesses to have a professional profile on Facebook, your prospects will still expect you to connect and respond on a personal level. They would like you to act more like a friend who shares what interests them. Therefore, Facebook gives you the power to steer and control the direction of the conversation.

On the other hand, Twitter, despite that fact that it does not require a proper business profile, is more about building a brand. Unlike Facebook posts, Twitter tweets tend to be more specifically and precisely about your own business. For instance, a new business announcement is likely to get more response on Twitter as compared to Facebook. So, Facebook marketing is more concerned with how the people see you while Twitter marketing is more about how you want them to see your brand.

Conversations & Reactions

Both Facebook and Twitter are examples of highly interactive social media marketing platforms where businesses and prospects can communicate with each other. However, the way that communication is carried over both platforms is quite different.

Facebook is more about starting a conversation with your prospects, asking for their response and seeking their approval. On Twitter, it is more about reactions than response. As we mentioned, businesses usually use Twitter to make timely announcements. As for the prospects, they usually use Twitter to share their reaction to a current Tweet or their last experience with the brands. Prospects play an equally proactive role in sparking a conversation. That is why, in case of Twitter, proper and timely response from the business becomes more important.

If handled properly, a complaint on Twitter can offer a better marketing advantage than a positive response on a Facebook post.