Maybe I’m alone here because while I like peanut butter (on toast) and chocolate (in numerous formats) the idea of combining them sounds a bit wrong.
However, this sickly blend is the metaphor chosen by business social networking site LinkedIn to describe its new partnership with Twitter.
As Linkedin said on its blog: “Because when you’re trying to get something done, you want Twitter and LinkedIn to work together. Like peanut butter and chocolate!”
The tie-up will enable users of Twitter to stream their updates on LinkedIn, and vice versa. So, for example, you can use your LinkedIn status update to share work updates on Twitter.
Initially, I couldn’t see the logic in this pairing. LinkedIn has a serious, business-like tone, while Twitter is a bit more frivolous. Third-party tools that allow Facebook and Twitter users the ability to post updates on both social networks makes complete sense, but I couldn’t see why a Twitter user would want to inform their LinkedIn connections the tedious details of what they had for lunch.
But, the two-way interaction allows users to be selective about what they share across both networks. Another bonus on reflection is that the deal could open up an opportunity for brands and marketers to harness LinkedIn as a marketing tool.
LinkedIn boasts a rich array of groups, which have hitherto remained untapped by advertisers. We were trying to figure out an interesting and engaging way to use LinkedIn for a social media campaign only last month. By using the hastag ‘#in’ as part of a social media campaign, you could easily share content and spark conversations with relevant LinkedIn groups that might not use Twitter.
It sounds like a sticky combination so perhaps peanut butter and chocolate isn’t so wrong after all.
Interesting article. Sounds like a good idea – to a point. Whilst I wouldn’t mind combining some freelance things I do with both Twitter (because I have quite a few contacts that I communicate with through Twitter) and LinkedIn, I probably wouldn’t be so keen on doing that with my day job.
Also, I would’ve thought that peanut butter and am would’ve been a more well known phrase…wonder why they chose chocolate over the usual?
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Nice blog post and an interesting topic – I think Twitter and LinkedIn would work well together so combining the services seems like an obvious step. I use Twitter for personal and business reasons but I’d have no problem in having my stream appear online at LinkedIn as well.
It also gives LinkedIn a bit more personality, which can be lacking in a simple “check out my CV” format.
The only odd thing is having Reid Hoffman and Biz Stone on a video together – it doesn’t work – it’s like the PC vs Mac ad except they both have the obligatory rectangular web 2.0 glasses. Just my opinion anyway!
PS – Is that really Reid Hoffman or is it Mark Benton doing an accent?
I agree that the relative frivolity of tweets is probably going to annoy most folks on LinkedIn… although LinkedIn updates going out as tweets probably makes sense.
I also wonder if Twitter Lists will somehow be combined with LinkedIn Group memberships. That would facilitate the sort of campaigns you’re talking about.
BUT… like all mass advertising, I believe there’s a serious overload problem. Already, I have had to reduce or eliminate updates from LinkedIn Groups due to (human) bots posting spam. Advertising, regardless of if it’s a direct LinkedIn post or a tweet, unless it’s HIGHLY targeted to the Group, will certainly force me off even more groups. That however gives an idea of how advertisers can be successful: by offering to moderate a Group… to remove spam and spammers… the advertiser not only gives something of value, but also ensures a higher likelihood that his own message gets seen. One Group I belong to is run by a specific company: they advertise their wares, but they also spend a great deal of time ensuring the discussions stay on topic.
I am also annoyed by the constant drone of “Connect with me even though I don’t know you and won’t ever render anything of value through our link” messages. This is the beauty of Twitter: anyone can follow me and I have no expectation of having to interact with them… ever. Perhaps this is the root of your cognitive dissonance regarding putting Twitter and LinkedIn together: Twitter is inherently a push medium while LinkedIn is much more of a pull. The bidirectionality of LinkedIn must be considered strongly when planning ad campaigns there, but the tweet medium makes that less likely.
Dan G
LinkedIn since 2003
<> titudeAdjust
I agree it’s an unlikely combination and I’m not sure that i want to combine my Twitter and LinkedIn ‘personalities’ as i make a lot of throwaway comments on Twitter. It’s good for LinkedIn as it could give people a reason to return on a more frequent basis but I think it risks diluting Twitter as people will become cautious and guarded about what they tweet if it also appears on their LinkedIn account.
So long as you can filter which tweets get pushed into LinkedIn (in the same manner that you can filter which tweets get pushed across to FB) I think it’s a logical progression. Everything’s going to be integrated soon, so we may as well embrace it when we see it.
Bot’s and Spam are a by-product of a process that we all feed everyday through our continued contribution to the attention economy which lives through all of these channels. More marketing propositions on LinkedIn is a dangerous idea though (especially if the auto-follower-army get involved), the users on LinkedIn are the stock and any other promotional activity is going to detract away from the core premise of the site, diluting their online positioning.
Just my thoughts on it, which I wouldn’t have had without reading this post, so thanks, enjoyed the reading and the thinking that you stimulated.
Really interesting post. I’m new to twitter and already thinking about how I must be perceived on there.