The New York Times carried a story today on “When Stars Twitter, a Ghost May Be Lurking.” Many social media commentators and advocates of transparency in social media think the approach is bogus. The same critics have pilloried corporate CEOs who have their PR team blog or tweet on their behalf. Is the voice real? Or cleverly crafted concepts strategically designed and rolled out to build image and reputation? The latter fails the transparency test.
Should entertainers, athletes and others in the public eye be held to a different standard? Publicists for several, including Britney Spears, argue that the person is really a brand, so can have support in communicating through social media just like a car, beer or enchilada. I’d suggest that brand personalities lack something core to the discussion: a human voice. Books like “The Cluetrain Manifesto,” “Body of Truth” and “The New Rules of Marketing and PR,” to name a few, talk about the importance of telling stories in human voices — being real. This should apply to stories told in 140 characters or less.
Posted by Tom Gable
Tags: branding, creative, issues management, marketing, social media, writing
