“After two days in the desert sun, my skin began to turn red,
After three days in the desert fun, I was looking at a riverbed.”
– America
The proverbial horse designed by committee
That Twitter is a very real and very serious communication channel for businesses seeking to connect with customers is not news to most folks these days. That Twitter is now being used by the government agency that rides herd on the investment community, on the other hand, might well be a surprise.
In this post from SmartBlog on Social Media, Emily Molitor reports on how the SEC — yep, that SEC — has developed a fairly sophisticated social media strategy comprising Twitter feeds, YouTube, a mobile site and an investor-specific microsite. Mark Story, the SEC’s new media director, notes that the agency has three Twitter feeds that target specific audiences: news media, investors and job seekers. That’s smart. And it’s a smart move that other companies — including those the SEC monitors — should adopt.
We see a two-fold lesson here. First, anyone who doubts the utility and business value of Twitter and other social media tools for B2B as well as B2C communications is either not paying attention or just plain stubborn (bet you know someone like that). Second, when an organization whose job revolves around regulations and investors can find use for not only one but three Twitter accounts, it’s time for all Luddites to pull their collective heads out of the sand and recognize that the camel train is just about ready to leave them behind. Unless, of course, they enjoy sucking sand.
Inflexibility is rarely a viable business strategy, especially when it comes to communications.