danleach.co.uk

I sat in on a meeting last week on digital PR with a focus on Twitter to discuss the role that it can (should?) play for our clients.

It struck me throughout the meeting the sense of disbelief there was that companies and brands aren’t actively engaging. This was then followed by the well-publicised PR Week story on FTSE 100 companies not registering Twitter accounts.

Whilst I do think our clients should be engaging in the Twitter movement I also think as PRs it is our role to take the baby steps necessary to encourage this engagement. Forgetting that we tend to be communications early-adopters there is a danger that we go in too strong and make the mistake of presenting a black and white argument (you should be on Twitter, it’s a mistake if you’re not).

The fact of the matter is that the role Twitter has in terms of corporate communications is still unclear and for that reason it is a potential minefield for clients. The service is still incredibly immature and it takes a bold person to take the plunge and gamble brand reputation on a tool that could do more harm than good if not used in the right way.

The first step for clients is to understand what Twitter can be used for and how audiences are using it to discuss their brand, product or service. We should be facilitating that understanding with tools like Twitter Search and HowSociable?, before taking them to the next level of engagement.

Assuming our client’s want to get caught up in Twittermania just because we are is a mistake that could make the long-term argument for adoption even tougher.