Businesses are Joining the Twitter Conversation - Is Yours?
Of all of the emerging tools of social media, Twitter is the most conversational. The mobile SMS service lets people chat in compact 140-character spoonfuls. Some use it 20-30 times or more per day, but the average user only posts three times a day.
Businesses are starting to find ways to use Twitter. Companies that are talking directly to customers include - Seesmic, Zappos, IBM, H&R Block, or the Dell Outlet program that lets Twitter users get early discounts on close outs.
If you want to learn more about Twitter watch this video!
And to view a real life example of how JetBlue is using Twitter have a look at the post at Socialized – it highlights how two friends were twittering only to receive an email notification that JetBlue was following them. (”Follow” is Twitter speak for being able to read our “updates,” or posts.)
“As consumer advocacy radicals, the two of us immediately reacted that we found this a little “spooky.” Someone else commented that JetBlue was using a bot to do its updates. A few minutes later, I received a comment on my blog from Morgan Johnston from JetBlue corporate communications:”Hi Joel,
Sorry if we weirded you or your friend out by following you on twitter. @JetBlue isn’t a bot, it’s merely me and my team keeping our ears to the ground and listening to our customers talk in open forums so we can improve our service to them. It’s not marketing, it’s trying to engage on a level other than mass broadcast, something I personally believe more companies should try to do.
Because corporate involvement in social media is a new and evolving discipline, I also take a specific interest on conversations revolving around our role here. I’d have DMd you and Lisa directly if you allowed DMs, so please also forgive me for following the link on your twitter page here to send you this note.You and Lisa are no longer being ‘followed’ as you seem to indicate.Again, my apologies
Morgan Johnston
Corporate Communications
JetBlue Airways
We would agree with Socialize that this is “a great example of the company’s active participation in the Twitter conversation, its willingness to course-correct, and of the new speed of social media with which corporations have to contend.”
What is your company doing?
Comments
I love Twitter! I've been tweeting for awhile. (@quernzy) I connect with my twitter friends on a personal level mostly, and throw in business links from time to time.
I have seen a surge of business using twitter lately. I'm glad Jetblue makes an effort to CONNECT with people, instead of using it just as another means of advertising. I know most of my twitter friends are turned off by the businesses that are tweeting, so it's worth it to do the research and learn how to use twitter effectively!
Posted by: Valerie Querns | May 7, 2008 03:58 PM