Take, for example, the fashion house Aurora that followed everyone who posting with the hashtag #aurora after the shootings at the Denver cinema of the same name, or the NRA wishing shooters a 'Happy Friday' following the same shootings.
I don't know whether these were automated actions, but they felt like it. Most people who use twitter will at least check why something is trending rather than assume it's because of their own awesomeness.
On several occasions I've tweeted a keyword that's been picked up and resulted in another follower. Trouble is I know that follower isn't real, isn't interested in me or anything I might say and is just hoping I'll follow them back. I don't.
So here's the thing... people with an agenda, whether personal or corporate, use twitter to promote that agenda. What's known about social media is that it's, well, social. As soon as you automate it to create the appearance of interaction without any of that inconvenience of actually devoting time to it, you risk creating something that's pretty much on a par with the automated phone system; you know how much we all love those.
Use twitter this way and not only do your tweets and follows risk being seen as spam, but you can do serious brand damage, like the above examples.
So if you do want to use twitter to advance your corporate agenda here are my thoughts:
- Avoid automation - it's impersonal and potentially dangerous
- Mix the official with the casual - give people a reason to follow you
- Personality - show some, it will help
- Show awareness of what's going on in the world - at least check the news before joining a trend
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