The End Of Tweets On LinkedIn Is Not The Apocalypse!

Originally posted on Forbes.com From the CEO: Eve Mayer Orsburn | @LinkedInQueen

Recently it was announced that you can no longer post your tweets automatically onto LinkedIn. Many people freaked out and contacted me immediately asking how this monumental turn of events would affect their lives. Now I understand as much as the next person that social media is a powerful, rapidly growing media, and that people across the world are communicating on it in massive ways. But often reactions to changes in social media truly are out of control. For example, here are some recent questions I received and my responses:

“Is there a way I can use Hootsuite or some other tool to still get my tweets posted on LinkedIn?”

No, you can’t.

“Is this temporary?”

Probably not.

“Is this the start of the apocalypse?”

I’m pretty sure it’s not, but I guess we won’t know for sure until we wake up tomorrow. Unless you are a programmer who has spent the last several years of your life writing an app that tied into Twitter, and were just about to launch it, become a millionaire and retire before Twitter changed the rules, this situation will likely not affect the overall quality of your life.

“What should I do now?”

Tweets should have never been connected to LinkedIn in the first place. So, rejoice for the following very good reasons.

Reason #1

You will see an immediate and drastic reduction in the number of unprofessional tweets showing up on LinkedIn. Tweets like this one:@TooCoolioForSchool Is Now Foursquare Mayor of Burger King Bathroom on 4th Street in Topeka, KS.

Seriously, aren’t you tired of logging into LinkedIn and seeing a coworker repeatedly checking into embarrassing places like fast food bathrooms and lingerie boutiques? Then there’s your former boss posting 17 Twitpics in a row of herself in her Hoveround at the Grand Canyon. Chances are your colleague and your ex-boss simply forget that their tweets were synced with their LinkedIn network status updates. The good news is, this is all over!

Reason #2

Most people are trying to accomplish different things on these different tools, so rarely would you want the exact same content going out on both platforms at the exact same times. Remember that each social media platform requires a different frequency. Depending on your goal(s), the optimal frequency for LinkedIn in most cases is one post per business day, while 8 posts per day on Twitter is the recommended frequency if you want to be effective. Cross-posting 8 daily tweets on LinkedIn can be a major turnoff — literally — resulting in some of your contacts clicking that “Hide from your updates” button. Also, Twitter hashtags and other common symbols and jargon may not make any sense elsewhere, and therefore have no place on LinkedIn.

Reason #3

You must address your audience appropriately. The average age of a LinkedIn user is 40 and has come to LinkedIn for professional reasons. The average Twitter user is 33 years old and may be using Twitter professionally or personally, or may be combining both. Reaching out to different audiences requires that you craft your content differently so you can effectively attract your targets.

Lastly, as humans, we forget. We forget to turn off the iron and close the garage door and inevitably we hook up LinkedIn and Twitter and use both professionally until we forget. And then there is our convenient cell phone with a built in camera and fingers that can tweet as fast as lightening and post out pictures from that wild night in Vegas or that first crazy night you had had in years at your high school reunion. Suddenly, that picture is up on Twitter and as a forgotten side effect, it also pops up on LinkedIn. Worry no more, the risk is gone.

If you are still determined to post simultaneously on LinkedIn and Twitter, here’s a better way. Log into LinkedIn, create a status update, check the box next to the Twitter bird and bam! – dual posts. The great thing about posting from LinkedIn to Twitter, rather than the other way around, is that your posts will tend to be more professional.

Still convinced that this announcement means the start of the apocalypse? Then it’s time to catch another episode of Doomsday Preppers and I’m sure you’ll be just fine.