Companies on Twitter

The last time I wrote about Twitter it was to complain that it is useless. I must confess that a few months after writing that article I’ve become addicted. I wake up and check my Twitter and just before I go to sleep I check my Twitter. Yes, I am a loser but I’m hoping this phase will pass fairly soon.

I have noticed a slight trend lately of companies using Twitter accounts and I’m fascinated as to what is the benefit. This new trend can be seen by corporates such as Grant Thornton and the restaurant Capello’s in Sandton.

I must be honest, I’ve been racking my brains for what on earth these companies could actually use Twitter for. Barack Obama “has” a Twitter account which he used cleverly to evangelise users but realistically how could a company use this service?

This is when it hit me, the reason I could find no value in the Grant Thornton Twitter account is because it isn’t well maintained and the reason I don’t find value in Capello’s is because I don’t ever go to that restaurant. Now if I was a regular or even occasional customer this interaction would be genius.

I did some research and came up with some interesting examples. I remember bitching about how I was struggling to buy a Dell computer and was almost instantly followed by KerryatDell. Unfortunately she helps people out in the UK but it was a nice gesture none the less.

So here are my ideas on how to make Twitter useful:

The first and obvious way is to alert people about your site/service. The perfect example here is that of Capello’s. I’m alerted to their restaurant and if I were in Sandton City I would definitely go eat there as I’m impressed with the innovative nature of their advertising. Another example is that of IOL which sends me the news headlines via Twitter.

The second method is the brand ambassador. This is the example of KerryatDell. She picks up on complaints and solves peoples problems via Twitter. Not only is this an actual useful service but it also builds a massive amount of brand loyalty that you would normally not gain in any other manner.

The third and final reason I can find for companies to be on Twitter is to push promotions and gauge feedback on their products. Unfortunately no one is doing that just quite yet in South Africa from what I can see but this would work well for a travel agency or similar service.

So the final question would be: “Is your company Twittering?” If not then you’re missing out on easy clients!

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