Just about every company either has or is planning a Twitter account. Oddly enough, this means it’s time to choose the company’s personality. There is a wide spectrum of possibilities, but it comes down to the business/personal breakdown. A company Twitter account that is 100% company news without any personal input works for some. They can have a team working on it and risk very little in terms of an individual posting something that doesn’t correlate with the brand image. But it also loses out on being relatable to consumers which has been so successful for brands like Ford with their Scott Monty account. One problem Ford may run into would be when Scott Monty leaves the company or renegotiates his salary. A company could become dependant on one person to maintain the brand because the community that person established is loyal to both microblogger and company. Establishing a brand Twitter strategy isn’t easy. Determining the level of personality infused with company news and discounts depends very much on what is most effective to engage customers. A careful analysis of how a company is portrayed currently and how it wants to be portrayed is very necessary before the first tweet.

The full story at Web Strategist:
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2009/07/30/from-corporate-to-personal-the-four-types-of-social-media-profiles/