Miley Cyrus quits Twitter; teaches a vital social media lesson
So Miley Cyrus has abandoned her Twitter account and rounded up some friends to rap about why the Hannah Montana star has snubbed the micro-blogging service and over two million followers – but buried amid the inevitable media storm is a nugget of good advice for would-be users of social media.
When we advise people on using social media, whether through our Twitter Workshops here in Newbury, West Berkshire, or when we create social media strategies – we unfailingly caution against starting down any social media channel without the intention of sticking it out.
We caution that an abandoned blog or Twitter feed, much like ‘latest news’ being a PDF from 2006, speaks volumes about your business in a tone that would-be customers find on Google and promptly leave your website. An understandable conclusion is that if you do not care about your own business then you probably will not care about theirs!
Indeed Miley herself (pictured here courtesy of Calmdownlove via Flickr) is already facing a backlash from fans who have felt closer to their icon via Twitter – and the media that are panicked by losing this cheap and free source of stories about the daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus. Actually she gives this parasitic approach by the media as one of her reasons for quitting Twitter. Here is that video Miley posted on YouTube:
Now for that nugget! If you do have to abandon a social media channel for any reason – why not explain so in your final Tweet, or blog post? Advise your potential customers how they can contact you and what channels you are still using – and give the links. Google is likely to make sure your customers still find these abandoned channels, so offering an explanation makes good sense!
Our old Blogger account still drives traffic to our website, not least because the last entry on 14th May 2009 tells people the blog has moved here to our main website. Do you have any social media channels that have been neglected or abandoned where the lack of an explanation is harming your reputation?