Using Twitter for Client Communication
Microblogging Provides for Reliable Customer Contact and Branding
Jan 19, 2009
Twitter, the service that allows users to send 140-character “tweets,” or posts, to the computers and cell phones of other users, is a tool that allows businesses to take control of their own brand images more easily than ever before. Businesses that have a Twitter account are able to keep their customers (“followers” in Twitterspeak) updated on company activities, even while quashing rumors and inaccuracies. Twitter may also be used as an additional customer service channel.
Twitter as Branding Tool
Businesses large and small are able to use Twitter to take control of their own brand image in real time. Announcements made from a company Twitter account often very quickly through “retweets” of the information. Some ways to use Twitter for brand management include:
- Rumor control. Both General Motors and Ford used Twitter to correct misinformation about the companies, according to Forbes Magazine. Twitter has a search function that makes it possible to keep track of what is said about a particular business or concept.
- Company news. Forbes goes on to report that some companies “used Twitter during last year's U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes to tell people where they could get emergency generators and fresh water.” The platform can serve as an efficient distribution channel for press releases and company news.
- Customer service. Companies that respond to queries via Twitter are providing a method which is incredibly convenient for cell phone users and lovers of other mobile devices. Customer service via Twitter can be managed in a transparent way which allows other followers to observe it and be impressed. Companies that solve problems via Twitter quickly become well-known to Twitter users, most of whom love to share Twitter-specific information with one another.
Monitoring Brand Image With Twitter
Third-party applications for utilizing Twitter data abound. In addition to free software clients that make it possible to read and post information without going to Twitter's home page, there are web sites and javascript widgets to help in sifting through the data. Here are some quick ways to start monitoring a company's brand image:
- Search with Twitter's own search function, found at the bottom of the home page. Enter terms like the company's name or a relevant hashtag. Search terms can be converted into an RSS feed for regular updates.
- Twilert is a service that will email Twitter search results. Green industry expert Jeff Korhan spoke about it in an interview on how he uses Twitter for business.
- Crowdsourcing with Twitter is as useful as one's followers; with a following that is broad enough (or focused enough), it's possible to ask questions about a company's image and get results. The data will probably be more anecdotal than scientific, but that doesn't make them less useful.
As with other social networking phenomena, Twitter is used to best effect for two-way communication. Responding to others' tweets and being a resource for their own crowdsourcing questions will improve the response to one's one tweets.
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