Should companies link social media accounts?

Many companies rely on dozens of social media accounts to reach different audiences.  Maintaining a regular presence on all of these channels can be time-consuming and challenging.  Some companies have linked their accounts so that a post to one account will automatically be posted to the other accounts.

While linking your social media accounts is certainly an easy way to reach out to your audiences, it’s not the most strategic or effective way.  Companies have a presence on multiple social media sites because each channel has unique qualities that attract a specific type of audience.  For example, many social media users have embraced Twitter because of its real-time nature, while others prefer the ability to share longer posts on Facebook.  Still others like the professional advice, information, and networking opportunities that LinkedIn provides.  Because each social media site has its own niche, it’s important to interact with people on each site in the way that they choose to receive information.

Additionally, a post might make sense for one social media site, but won’t accomplish the same goals on a second site.  For example, take the following tweet:

@cmduffy & @goffpublic gave out a #PR Rock Head Award to a
Portland reporter who missed Journalism 101. bit.ly/nTkk63 #OccupyPortland

Twitter users will have no problem deciphering the abbreviations and symbols in this tweet.  But if this tweet is automatically posted to Facebook, many users would not understand or appreciate the post.  Because Facebook allows for more characters per post than Twitter, it would be more strategic for you to explain the post using more words.  Excessive confusing posts from Twitter could alienate your Facebook fans and cause them to disregard future posts.  The same can be true for Facebook posts that are automatically posted to Twitter.

Rather than linking your accounts, we recommend posting separate messages on each of your accounts.  The messages should be similar, but each message should reflect your recognition that different audiences deserve to receive information the way that they want it.