It’s one thing for your healthcare organization to have an organizational twitter account.
Consumers of these tweets expect the content from these tweets is coming from an anonymous source within the organization; there is also an expectation it’s going to be marketing directed, and generally show the organization in a positive and slightly biased light. That’s Ok.
However, when an individual puts a picture of himself in the little Twitter circle, a Twitter follower has a very reasonable expectation the tweets are coming from the personal account of that individual, not someone else.
Note the use of the word expectation. Expectations aren’t rules, they are cultural norms. Ignore them at your own peril.
So, if a healthcare CEO has someone else tweet from their account – but is showing his or her name and picture – then at a fundamental level they are being dishonest within this exchange of content.
Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s fine, and even recommended, that when a CEO starts to tweet, he or she has someone help either compose or review the tweets. Twitter has both a language and a culture, and when engaging a new language and culture it helps to have a guide.
(Are their any exceptions? Perhaps, For example, Hilary Clinton, during the campaign, would have her media people post to her Twitter stream for most of her content, and then she would identify her personal posts with a “ – Hilary. “ As an aside, this was well known to both the media and her followers. Now her posts are all her own. Hey, if you have 20 million followers and are running for president then do what you want! But even in the area where you and your brand are inseparable having others tweet for you is still the exception . Heck, Katy Perry, who has the largest Twitter following in the world at 108 MILLION, still tweets herself.)
Anyway, dishonesty is never a good message for the CEO to send to their organization, and in the Twitterverse, having someone tweet for you is a form of dishonesty.
Just don’t do it.