The @CitigroupInc account is another fake account that should probably be closed down. But right now, if Citi doesn’t complain, nothing happens.

A belated thanks for the insight. Yes, it does seem like a shrug-off would be the worst response to an unsolicited but well-intentioned response. I will be a bit more “forward” in getting the word out, and we’ll see how many people we can help. Thanks again.

You can also use a third-party application like Tweetdeck to monitor conversations. That’s what I did for this article on WaMu. I just added another column (the 7th) to my screen. It refreshed the stream of tweets every 2 minutes all day with anything anyone had to say about “WaMu.” It’s a superb way to monitor the zeitgeist of any given issue.

Glad you enjoyed the article. While not for every financial institution, Twitter does hold a lot of opportunity. We’ll see how it all shakes out.

So in the WaMu example in the article, I don’t think it would be appropriate to solicit the business of @KiltedDad. He’s just complaining. But you could try something a little more passive, like Following him.

But look at this tweet from @coachandrew. He says, “I predicted WAMU, once a great bank, would turn to dreck once Chase bought it. Today they proved me right. Tomorrow I’ll enjoy closing acct.” He has announced that he is in the market for (presumably) a checking account. You could send him this message: “@coachandrew Sorry about your troubles with WaMu. Are you looking for a business or checking acct?” Would you be offended if that showed up in your Twitter Timeline? Maybe at the most you’d shrug it off and ignore it.

I’m guessing most people will like the idea that they have some sort of personal connection with “their banker.” I can imagine a lot of people thinking, “Hey, this is neat. I get personal, privileged attention here on Twitter. No bank ever took the time to really acknowledge my existence before.”

In your case Andrew, I think most people wouldn’t mind hearing about findabetterbank.com — provided that they have already expressed an interest in something relevant to what your service provides. I’d be looking for people wrestling with this kind of question: “Time to switch banks? But who? Aren’t they all the same?” Or maybe, “Bank or credit union? Which should I choose?” If someone says they are “in the market,” as it were, for a new bank or credit union and needs help deciding, I wouldn’t hesitate to send them an @Reply. (Note: Not everyone has Twitter set to show @Replies from everyone. Some select to see only @Replies from people they are Following, and some people have @Replies turned off entirely, although that’s rare.)

I think the components that go into a Twitter profile — name, user name, profile picture, bio, background, colors, location, URL — are all entirely driven by each organization’s strategy, and many of the variables are interdependent. What are they there to accomplish? Who are they talking to? What are they saying?

These are some Twitter profile icons I pulled for my upcoming Twitter report. They weren’t pre-screened to make a point (I made these graphics two weeks ago). They were just handy. Nevertheless, they illustrate that most organizations on Twitter pick a brand symbol as their profile picture — usually their logo.

Companies putting a picture of a person — a real person — on their Twitter account is less common. It’s a good strategy for sure, because (as many argue) “Twitter is about dialogue and conversation.” But I think it’s a bit misleading to suggest there is some sort of rule that “everyone on Twitter should use a picture of themselves.” It’s certainly a good guideline, but there are a lot of different approaches that might work in any number of various strategies.

For The Financial Brand, the Twitter strategy is pretty straightforward: it is a publishing tool. Every single thing The Financial Brand tweets is a link to an article or website of interest. It’s an “overflow valve” or outlet for all the other stories that are worth taking a look at, but there just isn’t enough time to write about.

…we haven’t been too clear on how to approach people on twitter though. is it rude to search and then message them? I know I personally wouldn’t want to be approached that way. At the same time, i feel pretty confident that our tool could help a lot of people, so it’s unclear whether or not contacting them (from “out of no where” ) is a good idea.

What makes it the most interesting to me is–I know how I want to use twitter, but how do OTHER people want to use it? i want my “privacy” and “personality” to not be watered down or compromised by the twitter babble world, but do other people mind? and maybe most importantly, if I act on twitter differently as my company than I do as myself, am I compromising my own take on “online courtesy” or does the fact that I represent a company mean it’s OK to act differently.

I imagine you’ll touch upon these things in the upcoming report. I look forward to seeing/hearing more. Thanks.

Now let me think, who do I know on Twitter that uses his company’s (or blog’s) icon instead of his picture ….

This is an excellent post on how to strategically use Twitter and how not to use it simply as a tool to “hawk your wares”. My senior management team at my credit union are still on the fence about using Twitter. I’m the only one currently using it and guess what…I am not Gen X or Y (there are some Gen Xers on our team). I am sending this to them in the hopes that others will “get it” and embrace Twitter both corporately and personally.

Now I’m going to run some searches in the Dallas, TX area and see what opportunities may be available to encourage switching! Thanks as always for insightful articles.