I find it interesting that we see cybersquatting behavior on websites like Twitter, other social networks, even forums, and lately MMOs.

sharkbytes, the point of using the top 100 brands is that they should know better. Local tourism is still mom and pop businesses. Also many small businesses may be trimming ad spends because of the recession and slow down in travel.

Reece . . . it’s pretty broad to call it all squatting. Is the guy who has @bmw squatting. Not in my book.

I think all marketers today get the notion of Online, except that it requires exceptional technical skills to do it properly. Which is what 90& of all marketers don’t have, and therefore look stupid when trying to approve a proposal.

Thanks for your comments Brian.

“because centralized messaging like your .com analogy isn’t of interest or
relevance for me or you to follow on Twitter.”

I was under the impression a brand was created in order to have a unified message, a trust, rapport, etc. tied to a product. So the @brandname would be the best channel to provide this message imho.

I think this “centralized messaging” is of interest depending on the customer and brand and what you are providing in your “message”. Yes, simply spitting out press releases is a pretty lame way to do this. I won’t disagree there, but aren’t there other things that a brand can do with a channel like this other than that ? Let’s be a little more creative with our brands.

Customers want to have interaction with the brands and places where they can “touch” the brand. It’s different for every brand and different for every customer and each brand can use a respective “channel” differently. My point on the Twitter accounts was that I believe that each brand should be using their @brandname to control some sort of message on this platform. It’s not my job or place to say what that message is or what it is that would be “of interest or relevance” to each brands’s customers. Isn’t this what social media is about though ? Providing a way to directly and transparently interact and what better way for a company to engage in this then on the brand name?

You mention : “I know many of the brands and their corresponding digital strategists/social media practitioners who are indirectly cited in your post… and I can tell you that looking top down as an exercise or research into Twitter activity won’t provide for an accurate assessment of brand activity.”

I’m sure there are scads of people from the companies I mentioned on Twitter and other sites, but why is their no focus on the @brandname? Team members can and should carry forward the message of the brand individually and I don’t mean to discredit any work by you or others in your efforts to do that. However shouldnt a brand have a voice as well?

I can sympathize with some of what you seem to be conveying. A global brand may have a tough job connecting and providing a centralized point because of scale alone. In this evolving landscape though, I believe that this is what customers will demand. They want the direct connection to the brand. I believe brands that provide this will succeed in this landscape.

I believe that this shows your customers that you are accessible and actually care about providing a point of contact and a way to interact. What I believe the brands aren’t getting is that the central point on Twitter or any social media network should revolve around the brand name. It’s refreshing to here that Intel and others you cite have teams of people devoted to Twitter, but the brand is where your customers are looking for answers. I’d also like to think that people aren’t looking for the Intel brand and a way to connect at @bryanrhoads. They’re looking for it at @intel.

I think I practice this in my own use. We are using @domainnamenews for the content we produce and currently just spitting out our posts. (As soon as we figure out a better use we’ll be sure to jump on it). However we also use the channel to respond to contacts and engage with others in the community. I also have my @adamstrong account which I use to discuss domain names and other items outside of the DNN brand, but I also make sure I link back to the mothership.

btw isn’t intel providing a sort of centralized messaging in blogs.intel.com ?
Maybe I’m just green and don’t know what I’m talking about. . . . either way I do appreciate your comments and providing some discussion on the topic directly from someone involved. Thanks again

Kelly. the point of this post was to look at brands NOT using their @brandname accounts in an effective manner. I wouldn’t expect or advocate for individuals to use their individual accounts to simply regurgitate corporate stuff. I do expect more from a global brand in controlling their @brandname and using it effectively.