Is Facebook More Useful Than Twitter Or Vice Versa?
I wonder what are your views regarding Facebook. It’s interesting that when people are asked what they think about Facebook they almost immediately start the discussion by comparing it to something else, like Twitter.
Soon after I asked this question at the Dot Com Pho lunch meeting of bloggers at Happy Pho Restaurant in Vancouver, one of the keen participants, Aaron Koo proceeded to compare the usefulness of Facebook with that of Twitter.
Those who joined in then continued largely in that vein. Is Facebook only for communicating and sharing things with close friends or can it also be used for building contacts and rapport with acquaintances and virtual strangers?
Can it be useful for business?
This is what was discussed at our recent lunch get together. You can view the video from the discussion below.
You will hear me say in the video that I don’t agree with some of the opinions expressed, at least not fully. I’ll have my say the next time we meet.
Just let me say here a little bit.
I think that Facebook is a great tool to communicate with close friends and it can be very useful for business. Facebook can also be used for email list building.
If you have not read my previous post on Social Media Engine Optimization you may want to do that.
Watch the Facebook discussion to see if you agree with any of the bloggers:
Now is your turn to have your say.
What do you think about Facebook and its usefulness apart from staying in touch and sharing things with your friends?
Tell me your opinion by leaving a comment.
Then tweet the post, share it on Facebook and bookmark it on your favorite social bookmarking site to let more people join the discussion.
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Authored by Vance Sova
Tagged with: email list building • Facebook • Facebook course • Facebook discussion • Facebook vs Twitter • learn Facebook • Vancouver bloggers
Filed under: Social Media Engine Optimization
Thanks for shooting and posting the video.
I think that both Twitter and Facebook are useful in their own way. People are more likely to use the “mention” feature in Twitter when talking about a company than using the equivalent in Facebook, I find, and this helps to build bigger brand awareness. On the flip side, Facebook page owners may be able to get more sustained reach to their fans, since the “Top News” front page can oftentimes pull up older updates. On Twitter, old updates quickly get buried and forgotten.
Vance Reply:
August 5th, 2011 at 12:43 am
Hey Michael,
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I now remember that your opinion during our discussion was one that I didn’t disagree with that much if at all. What you wrote here seems to make a good sense to me. Both Facebook and Twitter are useful but in different ways and for different things.
I admit that I’m not fully prepared yet to stand on a box and belt out my opinions while facing everybody at the next Pho meeting.
While I’m working on becoming a reasonable expert on Facebook and Twitter I have to keep learning about them for some time.
Discussions like the one shown on the video and the one I hope will develop around this post help a lot to learn more and to understand more ways of using Facebook and Twitter.
for me , facebook is suitable for SEO too.. what i mean is that , if you built a note for something it will end up higher in the serp.. i remember reading this on johnchow , it is due to high pr from Facebook… from seo , you can do much more… focusing on affiliate , adsense and even creating your own product… no limit
and for twitter i mainly use for CPA .. there is a tool out there that make it easier… secret 🙂
Hey Vance,
We can not deny the power of social media. Obviously you can do so much more with facebook. Creating fanpages sell your products get more subscribers on to your list.
With 140 characters on Twitter you better hope your headline is good to get the click thru.
As mentioned above I have my blog and facebook fan page integrated with RSS graffiti so it updates my fan page as I update my blog.
Also I am looking into offline clients. I am in the process of create some local businesses websites and create a facebook fanpage would be a good up sell.
Vance Reply:
August 5th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Hey Craig,
Thank you for the comment. You seem to have a pretty good handle on Facebook and Twitter. I agree that Facebook can do much more for you than Twitter. Both have their advantages but FB wins with me too and by far.
Cheers,
Vance
Based on my experience, Facebook is more useful than Twitter since it clearly exemplifies what social networking is all about. Its different features such as creating pages, groups and events are very useful in terms of branching out and getting in touch with business prospects and even batch mates in the case of reunions. While twitter is basically just having to know and let the people know your whereabouts.
Vance Reply:
August 5th, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Hi Jane,
Very nice comment for which I thank you. I tend to agree with your view. Some of the guys at the Pho meeting would probably argue with you as they tend to prefer Twitter but that is the beauty of a discussion. It depends what one wants to do. Taking everything into consideration I think that there is no doubt that Facebook can do a lot more than Twitter.
Cheers,
Vance.
Facebook or any other social media is the most powrfull when you influence the people close to you or people you know. That way you can build up a really strong reputation over a subject with your followers. And they can endorce you forward to their audience. It’s all about sharing even it is just sharing with family and friends. For marketing facebook is very successful with the fan pages. I have seen many fan pages go wild and earn a living online easily with just the facebook visitors.
Vance Reply:
August 7th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Hi Tran,
Thanks for the comment. I’m not sure about using social media with people that are close to one in order for them to influence other people in their sphere of influence. I wouldn’t use people who are close to me to get more influence or business for me. People who I have business relationships with are a different story.
I’m skeptical of stories of people making a living with just facebook. I think that it needs to work in conjunction with other things.
Vance
It’s been 3 months since your last blog post – the main comment I have is that you need to post more often! 😉
Although I will say I don’t agree with what Aaron said about how people just Like a FB page for no real reason, but he thinks people take Twitter more seriously… I’m following over 1700 people on Twitter and I miss most of their tweets – if someone remotely interesting follows me, I just follow them back without much thought. But I won’t Like a Facebook page unless I actually like the person/company.
Vance Reply:
August 7th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Hey Josh,
Thanks for reminding me to post more often. I’ve never not posted for that long before. I won’t go into why I didn’t post for so long but I had good reasons for it. It may happen again but I doubt it. It’s nice to know that some people missed my posts and actually wrote me saying they were looking forward to my next post. I know, it wasn’t you but perhaps you were thinking it? Likely not.
With that out of the way, back to the topic of this post and your comment which I value. I tend to agree with your view that following all the people you follow on twitter is hard and practically nobody does it. It’s almost a contest for people to get as many followers as they can and they do everything to achieve it including following everybody that follows them. This has no real value though and it’s one of the reasons why twitter is sometimes disliked and even ridiculed.
Facebook is different in many ways and especially in this aspect. As you say you are not going to like just any page in order to gain something or for no reason. You will only like it if you truly like it. That fact would make the contacts created through facebook more valuable and real.
Of course if you already know someone and keep in touch with them through twitter they will be very valuable contacts.
Since there are people who prefer twitter and people who prefer facebook it seems that both platforms are or can be very valuable.
I tend to think that facebook may have bigger potential but it depends to what extend it’s being used. Someone who uses twitter the best way and to its full potential may get more out of it than someone who uses only some smal part of the potential that facebook has.
I’m still working on using it to its maximum potential.
Vance
I think twitter is more powerful because I’m able to connect with more people and the analytics are so much better than facebook. My facebook account is only business associates but the conversations are a lot more casual than twitter. It’s a lot easier to spam your followers on facebook. That can be viewed as a plus and a minus. I mostly ignore messages sent to me from facebook as spam.
I am a fan(atic) about google+ and I’m waiting to see how they implement business pages. The potential is huge and depending on their implementation, I’ll be migrating my customers from facebook to google+.
Vance Reply:
August 7th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
Hi Bonnie,
I really value a respect your view since you are using both twitter and facebook a lot. Thank you so much for commenting.
Having read and heard almost opposite views from yours makes me wonder if those views aren’t formed more based on individual preferences and the way different people use twitter and fascebook than on the true potential of either of them.
So far I haven used twitter and facebook to their full potential myself and I’m not sure if any of the people I know have. Maybe you did but in that case you would be even more remarkable than I think you already are. For sure you are using them way better than I do but it seems to me that most people, including myself tend to create a certain routine of using the platforms with which they feel comfortable and never go beyond that.
Thank you for mentioning Google+. I will look into it as well. If you are a fanatic about it that’s great. You’ll probably become an expert on it soon.
Again, thanks for commenting and I hope that you’ll be back soon.
Cheers,
Vance.
Hi Vance, that was an interesting conversation in the video, it’s good to see a subject batted about like that and different views offered.
I’ve been using Twitter for a while now and it’s always in my top ten traffic sources. I’ve only just started setting up my facebook account so can’t compare them as yet.
However, I recently won a place on Sally Neill’s new coaching course and i know that facebook plays a part in the coaching (which is why i set up my account) so I’ll get an insight into how sally has it set up and will be able to follow suit.
I know that she, and others, rave about the free traffic is supplies as well as the sign ups it offers.
I’ve also recently started on Google plus but again it’s to early for me to see any benefits from it as yet, time will tell Vance.
I’ll have to come back with the comparison in a month or 2 Vance.
Catch up then mate,
Barry
Vance Reply:
August 15th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Hi Barry,
It’s always great to get your feedback and comments. Thank you. You are one of the few people I know of that gets a lot of traffic from Twitter. I’m sure that you’ll be having a good success with Facebook as well. I can’t wait to read your comment on this in a month or so.
Google+ is something that is quite new and probably a good thing. Doing one thing ast a time is the best strategy and we’ll get to that platform soon too.
Cheers,
Vance.
Barry@The Newbies Guide Reply:
August 17th, 2011 at 7:47 am
Hi Vance,
with G+ it was pointed out to me last week that they hit 10 million users in just 16 days. Having had a good look around the inside I can see the attraction. Just need the tools and plugins to catch up now 😉
Vance I’m having a bit of a video challenge on my blog and wondered if you’d be interested in taking part?
Hope to see you there mate,
Take care,
Barry
Vance Reply:
August 17th, 2011 at 10:33 am
Hey Barry,
Nice comment. G+ seems to be something to get into. I’ll be checking it out and most likely get on to it very soon.
Thanks for the invite to your video challenge. I’ll check it out to see if I can participate. I’ll be there today after attending to some pressing things.
Cheers,
Vance.
Facebook appeals to people looking to reconnect with old friends and family members or find new friends online; the mashup of features like email, instant messaging, image and video sharing, etc. feels familiar, while Twitter is a bit harder to get your arms around at first.
The usefulness of Twitter is not readily as obvious to some people as Facebook; although it may be more addictive once you get the hang of Tweeting;
Hey Vance,
Twitter = great for connecting with geeks and tech savvy people
Facebook = great for connecting with regular people who aren’t geeks
Either one can be useful. Either one can be useless. It depends on how you use them. Personally I prefer Twitter because of the crowd that I generally hang around with. But I don’t spend too much time on either one really because I think there are more efficient ways of connecting with others.
Vance Reply:
August 15th, 2011 at 10:10 am
Hey Ted,
Thanks for commenting. Your opinion is very valid and I think that most people that I know of who are into business would agree with it.
The way Twitter and Facebook are used is the most important factor. I think that most people use them in their own way which makes sense to them but which is not necessarily the best way.
Vance
These videos are very interesting to watch and they discuss some great stuff.
I have to agree with Dale that Twitter has a steeper learning curve in terms of usage, which may deter some from using it. Many of my clients have a hard time getting settled into using Twitter as a marketing tool, whereas they almost always have a Facebook account and are accustomed to it.
Anyway once again great blog.
Hodaka@Viral Monopoly Review´s last blog post ..Viral Monopoly Bonus Package
I’ve been using facebook to promote my blog but it’s difficult to find relevant fans… I think it has a lot to do with specific industry as well. My specific niche is drug rehab, so it’s difficult to get many fans – cause who wants their interests to show ‘drug rehab’ (unless it’s a joke, lol)
So, for me, investing in adsense is superior to facebook, but like I said, it really depends on the niche
Steve@Drug Rehab´s last blog post ..When is it time for inpatient rehab?
The marketing process should be designed to get your prospects to know, like, and then trust you. Facebook provides a way to get your fans to know and like, not trust. I say this because while it plays a valuable role in the marketing process, I rarely see it actually closing any business. It’s a tool and should be viewed that way.
Vance,
I enjoyed watching your discussion. As for me, facebook is more useful than twitter. As one person in your video said, we can post videos and almost do anything in facebook. Businesses are on facebook too. Mostly in twitter are bots or spammers or serious people according to the other person on your video.
Janis Gagliardi@daytona beach condo realtor´s last blog post ..Daytona Beach Realtors Offer Advanced Website Features to Home and Condo Buyers
I think Facebook definitely has its use in the business world. Social media marketing is an up and coming trend, more and more businesses are taking advantage of it by the day! Have you given any thought to Google+, too?
Vance Reply:
September 21st, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Hi Lizzy,
Google+ is something that I’m going to explore and learn about soon. There are lessons about it in the course on Facebook that I’m taking as well so that makes it easier.
Vance
Almost all social sites are useful in their own way. If you want to promote your business then it is wise to chose one that suits you best. What works for one person may not work for the other. Google+ is also another social media site that is being used by many business people. The problem is that it does not have so many users but it is coming up and may also be of great benefit to online business.
Hello Vance,
For me, Facebook is more useful that Twitter. Why? I fond of using Facebook in promoting my site, my blog, my article, etc. It is my way of advertising your site if you really want to increase the traffic of it.
This is a nice blog. Keep it up. 🙂
Hannah@Personal Injury Attorney´s last blog post ..Seek Out A Car Accident Attorney After A Car Accident
Vance Reply:
November 20th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
HI Hannah,
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you like my blog. I look forward to your next visit to it and your future comments.
Vance
It is my pleasure to read you blogs Vance… Have a great day!
had some sales with facebook and none with twitter. I will vote for facebook.
According to me Facebook is more useful than Twitter, it gives us a wide platform to add details, offers etc, which is not available twitter.
Vance Reply:
December 15th, 2011 at 11:24 am
I agree provided that you are using those features. There are people who don’t ant for them the simplicity of twitter is all they need.
I rarely leave a response, however i did a few searching and wound up here Facebook Discussed by Vancouver Bloggers at Happy Pho Dot Com Pho. And I do have 2 questions for you if it’s allright. Could it be just me or does it look like a few of these comments appear like written by brain dead individuals? 😛 And, if you are writing at additional places, I’d like to keep up with anything fresh you have to post. Could you make a list of the complete urls of all your shared pages like your linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed?
Vance Reply:
March 1st, 2012 at 5:03 pm
Hi Agnes,
It’s not up to me to give a diagnosis as to who is a brain dead individual and who’s not. Perhaps you can reply to those comments where you are curious about the brains of those who made them. If you want to follow me on twitter etc. just click on the tab at the side of any page you see when on my blog and then further inside of what opens up.
Thanks for the comment.
Cheers,
Vance
This is really interesting, You’re an excessively skilled blogger. I’ve joined your feed and stay up for in search of more of your fantastic post. Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks
I have no personal accounts in twitter or facebook, but have one facebook account only for work. Facebook is working in my business.
For my opinion, I think facebook is more specific and useful than tweeter. Though tweeter is also good but with facebook, you can specify and interact more with people.
Vance Reply:
November 3rd, 2012 at 10:10 am
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for commenting.
Twitter is used for very short and thus limited messages but it’s instant communication in real time. Facebook is connecting on a different and much deeper level.
Vance