While celebrities Martha Stewart, Melanie Brown and Nick Cannon have done some questionable things throughout their careers (insider trading anyone?), they did have some great advice for marketers and businesses using Twitter during a panel discussion hosted at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The panelists discussed their own experiences using Twitter and dispensed some advice they’ve learned over the years. Authenticity was the buzzword of the day, with the famous trio emphasizing the importance of portraying yourself—or your brand—truthfully and consistently on social networking platforms. Stewart, an avid tweeter herself with 4.3 million Twitter followers, said that followers and fans “really care about authenticity” on social sites, she said in a USA TODAY article. The cooking icon went on to say that oftentimes readers think she’s inebriated if she misspells a word accidentally, which illustrates just how closely fans are keeping an eye on your tweets and how important it is for brands to uphold their reputations. After all, Martha Stewart would NEVER misspell a word on an invitation or Twitter for that matter.
Cannon echoed Stewart’s sentiments saying that communicating directly with fans creates a sense of loyalty. He went on to add that tweets and other social media posts are a representation of yourself, so they should appropriately align with who you are. This also sheds light on the importance of marketers and businesses representing their respective brands with their own mission statement and company beliefs. For example, a right-winged political group wouldn’t use an expletive in its blog but a comedian might.
While the famous panelists have a wide variety of Twitter followers and habits—Brown, for example has 769,000 followers— and sends around five to six tweets a day—they all agreed on one thing: promoting their business or business partners via Twitter is of the utmost importance.
Although these celebs, if not all, often fall victim to “haters” and hurtful tweets, they believe that the social media vehicle is an undoubtedly great way to communicate with fans.
Businesses can learn a thing or two from Stewart, Brown and Cannon on brand identity and the “right” way to portray your company in the social stratosphere. If there was one takeaway that’s sure to resonate, it’s to keep a consistent voice on social media and identify strategies to brand your corporate identity.
Edited by
Justin Reynolds
