Internet Doctor

Some Twitter Personalities

While I was working on my Twitter psychology article, a friend from Twitter, @spideas asked me a question about introverts on Twitter. I have had conversations with my introverted friends and looked at the deeper psychological implications of Twitter.  I realized that there are so many personalities on Twitter it might be fun to go through hundreds of the people I follow and follow me and categorize their tweets.   I put together a list of some of the personalities on Twitter and their tendencies based on my knowledge of psychology and personality.   This is not an exhaustive list. This is also not a complete description. There are exceptions to every category. Hold off on the hate mail.

The Introvert

Twitter appears to be a great place for introverts to communicate. It is a safe haven because they can write when they want and how they want. They can keep their relationships at a distance and they don’t have to divulge any personal information. They also are free to share information at pace that is comfortable for them. Of all the social places in the world Twitter is far more comfortable than the vulnerability of Facebook and more social than LinkedIn. Keep in mind that just because one is introverted, doesn’t mean they don’t have friends or want to communicate. They just want a safer place to do it.

The Extrovert

The extrovert is seen on Twitter regularly. Part of their personality is to be the “life of the party”. They usually are. They are involved, active, quick on their feet and engaging. However the extrovert can get frustrated with Twitter if they are not being responded to. They may not get the attention they hoped. Once the extrovert gains a solid following they love it. If it takes too long to gather that following they move on to other things. The problem with the extrovert is that they can’t stop talking. Because of their many “tweets” throughout the day many people believe they have no life outside of Twitter. They can be, at times, very overwhelming to the average Twitter user.

The Logician

The logic thinkers struggle with Twitter because there is so much emotional angst going on. Remember Twitter started as a tech forum. Many of the original Tweeps became frustrated and started their own groups. You will still find that many of these logic thinkers have a unique set of followers and do not respond to mundane talk. They like people like themselves. They like being involved with Twitter discussions that make sense and make a difference for their world. They have little time for everyday chatter. They are very good at weeding people out they do not want to talk to.

The Feeler

For the “feeler” Twitter is fertile soil. There is no better place to emote with other emotional people than Twitter. They connect easily with other “feelers”. They can get their emotions on the table. You know who they are because each tweet is filled with emotion. They are the best at responding to others, and they wear their emotions on their “tweets”. You know when they have a good day or a bad day. For some, the emotion can get overwhelming. You will more than likely have a few that you follow or follow you. You need to judge for yourself how much emotion you want in your day.

The Philosopher

This is a common person you will find on Twitter, they usually pass along some philosophical thought or quote to try to make a difference in your world. They are convinced that providing a good piece of philosophy that they are making the world a better place. If it goes on for too long however, the philosopher is quickly forgotten, ignored and eventually unfollowed. Everyone has a little “tweetosopher” in them. On occasion it can be good. Too much philosophy however can get old very quickly.

The Humorist

The humorist is a character. Many times they try to combine their profession with humor. All of us, from time to time will have something funny to say. However, these people try to put something funny out there all the time. If they are really funny, people love to follow them. If they are not funny, they get booed off stage by being unfollowed. Understand that humor especially in these tough economic times is a very powerful tool. If you have the gift of humor, it is a good idea to use it. It adds a side to you that people can connect with. Like everything else, you can push humor too far and lose people in a hurry.

The Informer

The “informer” always has a piece of information that they believe is worth reading. If you choose to be an informer you need to have more good pieces of information than useless pieces. I good informer is well read and is used as a resource. You probably already know some good ones or at least have a few in mind. The problem with information is that if that is all you provide then you have no time to interact with your intended consumer. Why? More than likely you are spending time looking for good information to tweet. Remember people on Twitter like being communicated with, not just thrown constant information. I also want to caution you about being over informative, because there are widget companies out there that people sign up for and they post informational links automatically. Many long time Twitter users see this as a violation of Twitter etiquette. If you become only an information source you may be seen as nothing more than an automated service and not a real person.

The Social Media “Guru”

The “social media guru” tweets about all things social media. They want to be resource of good information and interesting topical source for social media marketing. Some of them are people fascinated with social media and are starting a new career. Some of them are marketing people looking for a job or clients. In either case, this is their way of demonstrating to the world in 140 characters that they know their stuff. What I find interesting about this group is that they talk the talk, but they don’t walk the talk. They will tell you that you should engage with people to be successful in social media, yet they spend most of their time telling people about social media on Twitter without much personal interaction. I follow a number of them for informational purposes. However, I have unfollowed more than I follow over time. Their information can be good, and beneficial, but you never see who they really are because they are too busy talking about social media. They make themselves inaccessible by their lack of interaction. It is an inconsistency that can become frustrating. As my best friend said to me before he died, “a walk talks louder than a talk talks”. I still think it is true.

The Healer

The healer has some gentle or encouraging word for people who are struggling with life. It seems that their whole focus is looking on Twitter for any followers who are “down in the dumps”. It’s not a negative. They like knowing that they have the potential to make a difference in someone’s life. They enjoy the feeling they get by knowing they have encouraged someone to take a positive step. The problem with the “healer” is that he or she can spend so much time trying to heal people that you never know what or who they really are. In looking at some of the tweets they demonstrate that they can be enabling and at times co-dependent. They need another persons drama to fulfill them. Psychologically speaking it’s not healthy. I have at times wondered, “Who heals the healer”. Another “healer” is the best answer I have.

The Salesperson

It’s not hard to spot this person. They are always looking to sell their product or service. They have a belief system that if they put their products or services out their long enough someone will buy from them. I am sure some people do. They do not care what other people think about them, or if people unfollow them. In their mind it only takes one sale for them to be convinced that Twitter works for sales. They can be good at interaction; it’s their lure to bring you in, then…Kapowee! They are of all the personalities the quickest to get unfollowed.

The Business Networker

This person has one reason and one reason only for using Twitter. Network. They look to follow people that would be a good addition to their business network. They are not interested so much in the personal minutia; they just want to build a large following of people that can potentially help them now or in the future. They are not bad Twitter users; however they will quickly unfollow someone in their network if they do not contribute to their goals in business. For them if the conversation strays too far away from business they let you go and look for some other person that can take your place.

Me

The truth is I am probably a little bit of all these personalities and more.  I am a bit of a narcissist like most people on Twitter.   I like people to read my tweets.   I like the feeling it gives me.  I am concerned about using good etiquette and want to be part of the good experience on Twitter. Over time I have discovered that to interact with people and engage with them is very rewarding. I have noted that I spend more time responding to people’s “tweets” than I do creating them. I have also developed tremendous relationships, which I value.  I probably spend more time worrying about being a good Twitter user than I spend worrying about the benefits Twitter actually can provide for my business. I am told by some business people that it is a poor business model.  I have learned that if you are genuine on Twitter, you can have some of the best supporters and evangelists you could ever ask for. It is my humble opinion, having people like them create a great foundation for any business model.

You can always find me on Twitter @InternetDoctor.

Buon appetite!

Jay

If you are business using social media or considering using social media as part of your marketing plan then make sure you are considering your audience.

Where and Who – You Can Choose Your Friends, but Not All Your Connections

The Where

One of the first considerations you should make before you do business in social media is understand where your audience came from. Not all social media platforms are the same. They each have a distinct purpose, and a distinct audience, they are not all created equal.



For instance, in Facebook you choose your friends. Most people do not accept every friend request, and you probably shouldn’t. Typically on Facebookl we choose friends that we know or have some association with. After all they are “friends”. They can be business colleagues but we have them because we purposely chose them.

Twitter on the other hand chooses us in the form of a follower. We have little or no control over where our audience comes from. It’s easy to get followers, just start following people. You will find that if you start following enough people about 50% of them will follow you back. It’s interesting because people will say they have 1000’s of followers, but do they really? Or do they have a group of people that pay very little attention to what they “tweet” so that they can boost their own follower numbers? Can someone really pay attention to the 100’s of people they follow much less the 1000’s they might follow. Not unless it’s the only thing they do all day. If you are in business you should consider whether you would rather have a few hundred people that follow you because of what you say, or people who follow you so they can boost their numbers?



Then take the social network LinkedIn. Where do those connections come from? Here we have a combination of factors. They usually come from our initial attempts to invite people we know, or people who know us, whether that be friends or business colleagues. Then we start gathering connections from associations we have had, more than likely from business. From there we start connecting because we join a group, or know someone who believes we would be a good contact for someone else. However, what we start to see is that as we move from who we know to a recommended connection our knowledge of where and who connects with us becomes more distant. It can get to the point where you are not even sure who some of these connections are on your LinkedIn network.

The where is important because know where someone came from gives us clues to how they want to be talked to. If you know where a friend, follower, or connection came from, it makes it easier to know how to approach them with regard to social media marketing or if they should be approached at all. It also makes it easier to determine what message I want to send them. Consider this, do I want to send the same message to people I chose vs. people that chose me?

The Who

Knowing who your social media audience is, may be the most overlooked part of social media marketing. The more I research the so called “experts” and “gurus”, the more I find that they ignore this part of the social media for business marketing strategy. As a matter of fact they may be the biggest abusers of social media marketing!

If you are business who is using social media marketing right now I have a question for you. What do you really know about the people who you are connected with in your social media networks? If you are like most businesses you probably have not even looked at the data. You probably were not even told to consider it. You may have even been told by some social media expert to just blanket all your social networks with the same marketing message. This is not the most effective way for any business to run a social media campaign. Why? Does the term “target marketing” mean anything to you? The one thing we absolutely know is that “target marketing” works, it is the most effective means by which business tailors their product or service to the exact people that have the potential to purchase their product or service. We already know that there is a difference of where our connections come from in each social network, we are just as certain we know there is a difference in who those people are.

In addition, if you are like most people on these social networks you are probably connected to a number of people who are in the same industry as you are. So who is seeing your marketing message? People just like you who are not part of your real “target market”. True, they understand what you are trying to do, but, they are doing the same thing back. If you are sending your marketing message to people who may read your message, but will never buy from you, are you really marketing?

The concept of “target marketing” is so applicable and necessary. Do your research on your own networks. Please don’t ignore it. There are consequences for marketing to the wrong audience. In some cases you may not even know the consequences. For instance, people will start hiding your updates on Facebook, rather than removing you as a friend. Your social media marketing may have backfired and you may not even know it.

In Twitter, you may see more people unfollow you because of your marketing efforts. In LinkedIn, you may just ignored. The problem for business in most cases is not what you know, but what you don’t know. When people ignore your business, or do not comment about it, it is more damaging than when they say something negative about it. At least when they say something negative you can attempt to find solutions to fix the problem. When you get no response, or are ignored you do not know what you should fix. Knowing your social media target markets can help reduce this problem so that you are getting the right message to the right people in the right way.



The argument to what I just said is this: “well if people “unfollow” me, “hide” me, remove me, or ignore me then all I have done is found my target audience”. My answer: Maybe. Understand that in the case of Facebook where we choose our friends there is an expectation of why I chose to be a “friend” with you. I didn’t choose you for business purposes. Most people do not. For most people, they chose you because they expect you to be a friend. The last time I talked with my friends, I talked about what friends talk about, life. I don’t walk up to my friend and say, “Hi Bob, It’s Dr. Jay the Internet Doctor, and I have my new promotion this week, and this week only, take advantage of this great deal!” Can you imagine if you had those conversations with your friends in person? If those are the type of conversations you have with your “friends”, I would hardly call them “friends”, and I would suggest that you need to learn what a “friend” is. It’s just an entirely different audience based on who they are and where they came from.

Twitter is different, but again, many of your followers probably belong to some similar organization or group. As an example, I find this especially true of real estate agents. They follow each other. They do their marketing, and I am sure somewhere in the back of their mind they hope they market to a person who is interested in their latest listing, but typically it is going to another real estate agent who probably is trying to sell their own listings. In most cases the message reaches the wrong audience and goes no where. Just a lot of time wasted on typing up something that has very little chance of reaching the targeted audience you think you are hitting.

LinkedIn, can have much of the same problems as Twitter. While marketing is far more accepted, getting yourself in front of the right target market audience still presents a challenge. Remember these people are business professionals, do they really want their emails cluttered with your self promotion or promotion of your product or service? Probably not. They would rather that you use the market section for your promotion. They probably will not delete or remove you, but you will more than likely get ignored. Unless of course you push your marketing too much and too often, then they may be waving you “bye-bye”, and that does not help you or your business.

The Prescriptions

1. Go through your social networks and start looking at who your connections are, and where they came from and put together your social networks demographics.

The best thing you can do for your business and social media for business strategy is to know as much as you can about the people who you are connected with. Don’t make assumptions! One of the biggest mistakes we make is that we are overconfident in knowing what we think we know. Start looking at people as if you never knew them and start constructing your frame work. Start with categories of gender, age, children, no children, , type of job or career, approximate income (base that on their job, you can find an average income for any job through the search engines), etc. Be creative and keep your eyes open you may see categories that you would have never thought of.

2. After you construct the demographics of your networks determine how they are different.

Look at each network separately and look for differences, no matter how subtle. For instance, if you see that you have a network that is older in age than another, they are in a different stage of life, you are going to want to approach that network differently than if they were younger. Also if you see that you have one network that is heavy with people that are in your same industry, you may want to start working on attracting people that are more suited to your potential target market.

3. Never use a “one widget fits all” that says the same thing to different social networks.

The first thing it says, is that you are personally disconnected from your social network. It’s also says, you are lazy and don’t want to take the time to talk to people on a personal level. Remember this is “social” networking, not “advertising” networking, or “promotion” networking. Note, that people can see in any social network where you sent a status update from. If you use a widget that is a “one size fits all”, we know it. From a consumer perspective they find that to be very “non-social” in their social networking.

4. Get to know the people in your social network through comments.

The most frustrating thing for people on social networks is someone who wants to be a friend, a connection, or be followed but they don’t want to engage with those people.
they just want to advertise, promote or market. If you want me to believe that you are really the best person for the job, then show me by commenting on my updates, or let me see that you are commenting on other peoples updates. Remember if you want to understand your target market, and I hope you do, then you need to learn what’s important to your potential consumer. Again, do not make the assumption that you think you already know everything about people, even the people in your networks.

5. Track your comments, posts, and status updates.

What is it that you write that people respond to most? You will find that it is some of the most mundane, innocent, unique things that you write get the most responses. Track it. You have found another clue into what your potential consumer is interested in. It also means that you are creating dialogue. If you create dialogue with another person the potential for your business is exponential. They learn that you are human. They learn that you care. They learn that you can be trusted. If they trust you, they will trust what you do. This can be a win-win for both your potential consumer and you.

To you social marketing success!

Jay Izso, Internet Doctor