Posted by Liz Dill
With the phenomenal growth, continued media hype and celebrity backing of Twitter, is the microblogging site becoming more popular than Facebook?
According to a posting on Socialtimes.com, a blog that analyzes social media, Twitter has surpassed 14 million users, up over 76.8 percent since last month when we wrote that they had surpassed 8 million users. This tally was before the Oprah effect that jumped traffic 40 percent in one day. Although Facebook has over 90 million users, the rapid growth of Twitter puts their projected year end user number at 50 million.
In my opinion, both have pros and cons. Twitter is incredibly interactive and you can reach far beyond your circle of friends, but the functionality of the site is limited (find other users, send messages, replies) and updates are restricted to only 140 characters. Facebook on the other hand has a multitude of functionality (find people, make connections, instant messaging, video sharing, etc.) but on the downside is more difficult to navigate and update. In terms of creating a sense of community, Facebook wins the battle hands down.
Both networks should definitely be included in every savvy PR practitioners toolkit to use when it makes sense for their client. Depending on the goals and targets of your PR campaign, one of the outlets might be a bit more effective over the other. Here’s a few tips:
1. Twitter can often breaks news faster than other sources
2. If increasing traffic to your site is your goal, Facebook seems to be the outlet to use due to the sheer number of users.
3. Twitter can work as a quick, easy and inexpensive opinion poll on your company/product.
4. Since friends and “opt in” to see your messages, your messages will be targeted to people who are interested in your product/service.
5. By using “Twitter Search” you can see if someone’s talking about your company and you can participate where it makes sense. This is a great way to monitor and participate in what is said about your company online.
Tags: Crisis PR, facebook, news, research, social media, Twitter