Twitter is an extremely popular online news and social networking platform that recently celebrated its 10th birthday. Founded by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, it humbly began when now CEO Jack Dorsey sent the first public tweet: “Just setting up my twttr.” Within three years, one billion tweets were sent following that one, and today, on average 500 million tweets are sent every day!
Today, big and small brands alike use Twitter as part of their marketing strategy.
Without further ado, here are four tips and tricks you need to know about when it comes to using Twitter for business:
Integrate customer support – like American Airlines
Customers want to be able to contact you via their chosen method of communication and expect customer support to be efficient and consistent. Whether they’re contacting your office via telephone, opening online chat for the first time or reaching out to you on Twitter, you are expected to respond swiftly and professionally.
One brand that does customer support particularly well on Twitter is American Airlines, who chat with customers, offer immediate assistance to solve problems and empathise with frustrated travellers, all of this while staying true to the American Airlines brand.
Humanise your brand – like Zappos
It’s so easy to send out an impersonal tweet promoting your latest product or service, without putting much thought into how you are connecting with your customers. But when you do this, you risk jeopardising the integrity of your brand and losing followers as a result.
Online shoe and clothing company, Zappos, is renowned for its excellent approach to customer support that continues to win over many loyal followers. Their Twitter account is brimming with personality that helps to humanise the brand, effectively promotes it and keeps it “real and honest.”
Take advantage of multimedia – like Starbucks
The Starbucks Twitter account is brimming with two-way conversations between the brand and its customers. Although there are a few promotional and corporate tweets, these are uncommon and meaningful enough that audiences accept them without complaint.
What sets Starbucks’ Twitter account apart from the competition is its use of multimedia. Tweets with photos (and multiple photos) are extremely common, along with short videos and GIFs. Also, Starbucks retweets customer Tweets that reference the brand. Furthermore, any complaints made via the platform are promptly responded to with a complaint and a link to the customer service email address, in order for Starbucks to (in their words) “make this right.”
Respond in real time – like Oreo
Many brands are leveraging Twitter to respond to customer concerns, current events and other matters of importance in real time. Oreo is a classic example of a brand that took real time response to another level during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout, where it tweeted an image of an Oreo against a dark backdrop that read, “Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.” The quick-thinking campaign resulted in thousands of likes, shares and retweets, quickly putting Oreo on the map as one of the greatest brands to follow on Twitter.
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