Is just one Twitter account enough?

The short story, “63% of Brands Have Multiple Twitter Accounts,” on Mashable.com states that 63% brands are now using multiple Twitter accounts. Compared to the 2% of brands using more than just one Twitter account in 2011, 63% is a big jump. The writer asks if multiple Twitter accounts are necessary for brands now, and I think it all depends – always a good answer to everything, right?

Every brand has its own target market(s), and not every brand needs more than one account. This past summer I worked part-time at Athleta (one of Gap Inc’s brands for active women). On Twitter, there is one “Athleta” account as well as an account for each Athleta location. For example, I worked at the Athleta on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, so its Twitter account is “Athleta UWS.” I think having multiple accounts is a great decision by the company. Athleta is continually growing in locations, and having an account for each location is a great and convenient way for customers and the company to address customer service issues without having to address the “momma” account, which may be overloaded with questions and comments from Twitter followers.  Each Athleta store supports the local community and holds free events (Both Athletas in NYC provided free yoga twice a week in Bryant Park – very cool place), so an account for each store location makes sense.

Another example of a brand using multiple Twitter accounts is the Today Show. The company has its main “Today” account in addition to “Today Food,” “Kathie Lee and Hoda,” and an account for each co-host.  I think for large companies, it’s smart to have multiple accounts because the brand offers more than one, straightforward service, and it makes it easier for the target market to pick and choose what they want to read. Not every fan of the Today Show loves Kathie Lee and Hoda tweets – even though they’re the best hour of the show!

For smaller businesses that have maybe just one location or a smaller audience, multiple Twitter accounts would be unnecessary and/or annoying for followers. Multiple accounts could just become confusing to them, and this could lead to possibly hurting the brand.

So my answer to the article is it all depends. I think every brand should be able to recognize who its target market is – as well as which part of the target market is actually the Twitter audience – and then make the decision from there.