Why Zuckerberg should have a Twitter handle.

There is no doubt that Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook wants to influence the world. He has a view on the important discussions of our times that are shaping the world narrative: the impact of AI, Internet access for all, or the American presidency, to name just three. But what he doesn’t have is a Twitter account. Perhaps he views Twitter as Facebook’s competition and does not want to give Twitter an inch by having an account.                                             

Therein lies the issue.                                                                                                                        Twitter and Facebook just aren’t the same – something that Wall Street doesn’t get while most advertisers and agencies seem oblivious to. Here’s the difference as I see it: One gets on to Twitter to follow others – whether they are business leaders, sports persons, people from the entertainment industry, world leaders and so on – in other words the people being followed are all influencers. The other reason people get on to Twitter is to get the latest breaking news and headlines. Facebook on the other hand is used to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances and update one another on what’s going on in each other’s lives.                                                                              

For sure, some business leaders as influencers will also be on Facebook. However, how do these influencers’ Twitter and Facebook followers stack up?                                   

Let’s look at a random list of business leaders and their respective Twitter and Facebook followers:   

Influencer /Twitter Followers /Facebook Followers       

 Bill Gates /37 million /19 million

Mike Bloomberg /2 million /700,000

Richard Branson /11 million  /3 million

Elon Musk /11 million /No Facebook account?

Jack Welch /1.5 million /No Facebook account?

Ratan Tata /7 million /No Facebook account?

Tim Cook /6 million /No Facebook account?

Meg Whitman /235,000 /230,000

The above table says it all. Business leaders/influencers prefer to be on Twitter because people who follow them prefer to do so, on Twitter. It’s the same when you compare Twitter and Facebook followers for politicians who directly impact public policy like Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and of course a certain Mr. Trump. Mark Zuckerberg is ‘friends’ with millions of followers on Facebook. He might end up having more followers on Twitter if he decides to tweet and influence people.

? Could not find the official Facebook account of Elon Musk, Jack Welch, Ratan Tata and Tim Cook. Not sure they have one.