10 Things I Know About... Facebook v. Twitter

Jodie Lynn Boduch is a partner at Much Ado Marketing in Sturbridge. She can be reached at info@muchadomarketing.com.

10. BREVITY MATTERS

Facebook has a 420-character limit for status updates, whereas Twitter requires you to “tweet” in 140. Both allow you to post links, but URLs must often be shortened for Twitter.

9. PAID ADVERTISING

Facebook has sidebar ads in which the advertiser only pays when users click on the ad. Twitter doesn’t have paid ad space, but tweets can be used for promotion.

8. RECONNECT OR CONNECT

Facebook is a social portal for connections (family and friends) as well as reconnections (former co-workers, classmates, etc.). Twitter is a way to establish new connections.

7. RECIPROCITY

Facebook requires reciprocal connections, meaning someone must agree to be your friend. However on Twitter you can “follow” someone, but they needn’t follow you in return.

6. FILTERS

Too much information? Facebook users can hide certain kinds of updates; Twitter users can block or unfollow.

5. USABILITY

Facebook is intuitive. Twitter requires more thought. New users should observe what others do in terms of content and searchability.

4. TIME MANAGEMENT

Facebook is a social portal where people can linger thanks to e-mail, photo albums, IM and games. Twitter is more fast-paced and is well-suited to updates, link-sharing and group chats.

3. AUDIENCE

The reciprocity of Facebook means that you only see what your friends are saying. On Twitter, you can search topics to see what “everyone” is saying.

2. SEARCH ENGINES

Facebook does not have a bearing on search engine optimization (SEO), but Twitter does. Google results on popular topics are displayed in real-time and are affected by updates — including tweets.

1. CONNECTING

Companies can capitalize on the conversational feel of Facebook in their interactions with customers. Twitter, where users can “retweet” something, is a great opportunity to go viral.