Although I use a variety of social media networks, I find myself using Facebook and Twitter the most. But I also find myself using these networks for entirely different reasons. On the one hand, I have a personal Facebook account for connecting with friends, posting pictures, and socializing, while maintaining clean and appropriate content. On the other hand, Twitter is both a personal and professional account that I use for networking, finding out about events, socializing with new people, and promoting companies or people that I support. Of course, there is an overlap between the two, but all in all, I use each for different reasons. Put simply, I use Facebook for friends and Twitter for business and social reasons.

In the current scheme of business marketing, almost every business has both a Twitter and Facebook account to promote their products or services. While this is important to reach a larger target market, I was curious to find out which social network people thought was more effective for business marketing. Here are some of the responses I received (via Twitter):

@chris_c_lucas: It all depends on where your customers/prospective [clients] spend their time. Different for every business.

@cphadley: I get more interaction from people via #twitter but I really like having both options. #facebook is good for events/photos. #business

@jasonrukus: I think they both offer different strengths. Twitter is great for direct contact & customer service. Also for promotion of something. [Cont.’d] FB is great for being that something promoted. With FBML you can create interactive content which reaches a very large audience.

@JaysMoving: #twitter has the most opportunity to be retweeted and by the numbers it has better potential. BUT you should be a fan of us on #FB.

@rustylive: I think twitter, b/c it's fast, direct and without all of that fluff. Followers are more active as well. Also it's easier to...

@ashanjay: I think Twitter would be the better option for biz marketing.. but fb is not a bad tool either.

Although this is a small sample size, you can see that it is a mixed group of answers, but there seems to be more of an inclination towards Twitter as a marketing tool. Of course, all of this depends on the industry of your business. But let’s look at these networks more closely, shall we?

Twitter, by definition, is a microblogging social network that allows it users to send out short tidbits of information that can include pictures, links, or text, simply called tweets. Other users, or followers, can reply to your posts, which can start a dialogue, but your profile only hosts your posts. Most people are under the common misconception that it is just a series of status updates, but it can be used to market a business effectively (and concisely!) in 140 characters if executed properly.

Facebook, on the other hand, is a social network that allows each of its users to have a profile where friends can tag pictures, post comments, promote events, and write personal messages. Your profile incorporates your friends’ interaction as well as your own, which all of your friends can see publicly (depending on the privacy options). This is a place where you come to connect with people, instead of simply sending out a message.

After reviewing all of these responses and looking at my personal experience with these networks, I truly believe that Twitter can ultimately provide customers with better service and timely marketing. Yes, pictures and posts disappear out of the Twitter feed when new tweets are posted, but there is a much quicker response time with Twitter as opposed to Facebook. I believe that Twitter is a much more mobile application as well, which feeds into the “timely” marketing aspect. Furthermore, I believe that businesses can overcome negative feedback in a more dignified manner on Twitter. If someone posts a negative comment on Facebook, all of your friends can see the post. While you can respond to this feedback, the reaction time might not be fast enough for the disgruntled customer. If someone posts a negative comment about you on Twitter, all of their followers can see it, but you can address the feedback by retweeting what they said with an appropriate response. For example, if someone had a bad experience at a restaurant, then they could mention that restaurant in a tweet. In response, the restaurant could retweet that content, and reply by giving them 10% off their next meal, which will be posted to all of the restaurant’s followers.  

Regardless of what I think, it is ultimately up to businesses to decide where there time is better spent. And it does depend on customer demographics and where people want to go to find information about a company. To be on the safe side, both Facebook and Twitter should be utilized by companies to reach those larger target markets, as well as fulfilling different purposes. The important thing to acknowledge at the end of the day is that you are providing your customers with exceptional customer service and building your brand into something that you are proud to represent.