A blog post

Ghost Tweeting Wars in Public Relations

Posted on the 07 May, 2009 at 1:06 am Written by in Tweetexorcist.com

I need the help of my fellow public relations professionals. An important issue related to the future of our industry is weighing on my mind.

We are no strangers to ghost writing. Putting words in the mouths of our clients in the form of bylines, press releases, books, etc. is what we do. So, why does it feel so wrong to tweet for them?

I recently discovered a ghost writing service aimed at “movers and shakers” on Twitter, www.ghosttwitter.com. In stark contrast, I had already launched a web site, www.tweetexorcist.com, to keep the Twitter community informed on which celebrities are authentic.

In my opinion, my cause is just and every super hero needs a villain. What do you think? Would you tweet for your clients?

[polldaddy poll=1599907]

More from keyword Communication

keyword Communication Recommends

keyword has content marketing with Arkayne Socialize.

some comments

There are currently 9 of them
  1. Jeannette Paladino 7 May 2009 at 1:43 am permalink

    I voted that I would tweet for a client, but with a caveat. If the tweet was a celebrity, as you point out, that is a personal communication between the celebrity and his fans and should be in his or her voice. However, if a company wants to get out some important news — a product recall on the bad side, or a new technology breakthrough on the good side — that seems a legitimate tweet to be written by a PR person. It’s news and Twitter has become a news channel like any other channel be it newspapers, radio or TV.

  2. Rachel Minihan 7 May 2009 at 11:21 am permalink

    I have to reiterate what Jeannette said. I too voted yes, but I’m not sure that’s accurate. I wouldn’t write as the voice of another person. Although, I’d blog for someone, but with Twitter, it’s the conversational aspect that makes it more awkward. I said yes because I would tweet as the voice of a company – their representative, if you will.

  3. Michelle 7 May 2009 at 4:34 pm permalink

    I will tweet on behalf of the company, but I will not do it for an individual. Ghostwriters defeat the purpose and spirit of twitter.

  4. Chris Senecal 7 May 2009 at 4:36 pm permalink

    My feeling is it would depend entirely on the type of client or project I was working on. Like Rachel and Jeanette said – if my client was an individual like a politician – sending out tweets on their behalf would not be a good idea. But if it were on behalf of a company – being its voice – I think that would certainly be acceptable.

  5. Doug 7 May 2009 at 6:42 pm permalink

    Yes, in the case where I am representing a company, if it’s the CEO’s profile/blog I require them to be involved to the extent that the original thought is theirs or something we’ve collaborated on, they have to at least sketch out an idea, then I can craft the final message and send it, and to some degree handle replies, but always in consultation with the CEO or media person. I agree though that a personality really should handle their own tweeting.

  6. Jon Silk 7 May 2009 at 8:55 pm permalink

    Ghost tweeting is no different from speechwriting or blogging on behalf of others. Those people that others are interested in, and therefore should be tweeting, might not be the best at writing, or even have the time. Writers have always been employed to fill this gap – and whether it’s 14,000 words or 140 characters, the rules are the same.

  7. Shanan Sorochynski 8 May 2009 at 3:31 pm permalink

    Ghost tweeting on behalf of an individual makes me very uncomfortable. For me, it’s akin to be asked to go on a radio program and give an interview impersonating that person.

  8. Bage Anderson 8 May 2009 at 7:45 pm permalink

    I am tweeting for my clients right now but only as a result of coverage, news developments are in an effort to pitch their story to journalists, editors, reporters in a timely manner as it relates to breaking news. I am tweeting for my clients through my agency twitter profile, not theirs. In some cases they do not have one. I know this is off the mark and not about ghost tweeting but I am in fact doing it. There is nothing disingenuous about it. What I love is that it promotes their business as well as mine.
    Bage

  9. Paul 8 May 2009 at 8:38 pm permalink

    Twitter may, in some ways, be the Cheese Whiz of Internet communications, but I don’t think that means those who tweet should be artificial, as well.


reply