Facebook vs. Twitter
September 5th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
There’s a debate in certain circles, I’m sure, on which social networking service is most effective in generating site traffic and creating new revenue for your commercial web site. All things being equal (which, as we’ll see, are not), it seems to be a matter of common sense that any social networking strategy should include both services in an effort to reach the broadest spectrum of potential customers possible. First, though, some numbers.
- By some measures, Twitter has a total of 1.5 million active accounts.
- Facebook, on the other hand, claims a total of 750 million active users.
Additionally, it seems that Twitter and Facebook have different user bases, with Twitter focusing on sports and celebrities, while Facebook caters to businesses and to those of us not cursed by fame and fortune (or something like that). Don’t believe me? Watch ESPN Sportscenter for only a few moments and you’ll hear numerous references to Twitter, even the regular broadcast of Tweets from ESPN viewers.Twitter has actually become part of of the Sportscenter program in a way that Facebook is not part of the mainstream media. Having said that, I advise my clients to focus on Facebook–unless, of course, the Twitter demographic better suits their needs. Knowing the sports connection, you’d want your sporting goods store to have a Twitter presence, right? But all things considered, focus on Facebook instead. The potential audience is exponentially larger, and since each online relationship must be approved, most posts carry the added credibility of that imprimatur. No matter which route you go, though, don’t dive in without an editorial calender. It helps cross-promotion within you company, and helps ensure the quality of your posts–quality, if something goes wrong, is extremely difficult to get back.
