My Thoughts on Ghost Tweeting

Jan 30, 2010 // by Eric Brantner // SEO Blog, Social Media // 6 Comments

Thanks to a recent feature story in Entrepreneur magazine, ghost Tweeting has once again become a hotly debated subject. So, I thought I’d throw in my $.02 on the subject.

Note: For those who don’t know, ghost Tweeting is when you hire someone else to Tweet under your name.

It goes against the whole point of social media—Call me crazy, but isn’t the whole point of social media to be, umm, social? Social media is about interacting, building relationships, getting to know one another, and just being yourself. Now, if someone else is Tweeting under your personal name, doesn’t that violate all of this? It’s like when a 50 year old fat guy in a chat room pretends to be a 21 year old blonde chick. Not cool, man.
It can distort the brand image—Celebrities and high-profile execs are usually the ones who hire people to ghost Tweet for them, and I get it. They’re busy. The last thing they have time for is to Tweet all day, but they also want to build their brand and keep their name out there. However, I think this is a bit dangerous and can easily backfire. Even if the ghost writer is good at capturing your exact tone and personality, there’s no way they can know the celeb’s thoughts on every subject they Tweet about. Sooner or later, something will be Tweeted that isn’t in line with the celeb’s “personal brand”, and this will distort that image and confuse their audience.
The speed of Twitter makes it difficult to edit—I understand ghost blogging because the ghost writer has time to interact with the credited author to get ideas for posts and edits on their writing. But Twitter is a real-time conversation. There’s no time for editing and approving every single Tweet before it gets published. This creates a dangerous environment where the ghost writer can very easily slip up by Tweeting something they shouldn’t, and as a result, it’s the celebrity who ends up paying for it.

Alternatives to Ghost Tweeting

Hire a social media consultant to train you on how best to use Twitter.
Tweet when you have time. Quality over quantity.
Don’t Tweet at all

About The Author

Eric Brantner

Eric Brantner is a copywriter who is obsessed with getting conversions. His website copywriting services are used by small and mid-sized businesses from a range of industries.

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6 Comments

cynthia bailey md January 30, 2010 at 4:33 pm

Ghost tweeting is deceptive and undermines the very relationship aspect of social media that makes social media so popular. I could very easily justify delegating my tweets to my office staff; I see patients full time during the work day and run my medical office, but I tweet when I can and don't when I can't. I like to take a 2 minute break, watch the tweet feed and chime in- then back to work.

Having my staff act like me, under my name feels wrong on so many levels. If I wanted to assign staff to the task I would do so under a business name, not my name so that it's clear that tweets come from a team, not me personally.

I've just started participating in social media and blogging, and there is a community aspect to it. Honesty is important.

Cynthia Bailey MD http://www.otbskincare.com/blog/
.-= cynthia bailey md´s last blog ..Dermatologist’s 3 Simple Steps For Soft, Sandal-Ready Feet By Spring! =-.

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cynthia bailey md January 30, 2010 at 4:33 pm

Ghost tweeting is deceptive and undermines the very relationship aspect of social media that makes social media so popular. I could very easily justify delegating my tweets to my office staff; I see patients full time during the work day and run my medical office, but I tweet when I can and don't when I can't. I like to take a 2 minute break, watch the tweet feed and chime in- then back to work.

Having my staff act like me, under my name feels wrong on so many levels. If I wanted to assign staff to the task I would do so under a business name, not my name so that it's clear that tweets come from a team, not me personally.

I've just started participating in social media and blogging, and there is a community aspect to it. Honesty is important.

Cynthia Bailey MD http://www.otbskincare.com/blog/
.-= cynthia bailey md´s last blog ..Dermatologist’s 3 Simple Steps For Soft, Sandal-Ready Feet By Spring! =-.

Reply
Gerald Weber
Twitter: the_gman
January 31, 2010 at 11:07 pm

Very well said. I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for stopping by, reading and leaving a well thought out, meaningful comment.

Reply
Gerald Weber
Twitter: the_gman
January 31, 2010 at 11:07 pm

Very well said. I couldn’t agree with you more. Thanks for stopping by, reading and leaving a well thought out, meaningful comment.

Reply
atomicpoet January 31, 2010 at 11:26 pm

I don't see the point of ghost tweeting. Why ghost tweet when you can just schedule tweets for time sensitive situations? Takes a few minutes a day, and saves you money from hiring a ghost tweeter.

I can always tell who ghost tweets by the amount of Twitter clients they use during a small timeframe. And yes, it makes me think less of them.
.-= atomicpoet´s last blog ..hello friend! =-.

Reply
atomicpoet January 31, 2010 at 11:26 pm

I don’t see the point of ghost tweeting. Why ghost tweet when you can just schedule tweets for time sensitive situations? Takes a few minutes a day, and saves you money from hiring a ghost tweeter.

I can always tell who ghost tweets by the amount of Twitter clients they use during a small timeframe. And yes, it makes me think less of them.
.-= atomicpoet´s last blog ..hello friend! =-.

Reply