Follow Me on Twitter

This phrase "follow me on twitter" is starting to bug me.  It all started when The Bay (@thehudsonsbayco) radio ads added "..and you can follow us on twitter".  I've tried to engage with their brand on twitter several times and have had no interaction. When I look at their twitter stream I see some interaction but they, IHO, are not truly engaging.   

"Follow me" or the FB version of "Like me"  infers a one way communication.  You follow them , they provide information. Likely the same information they have traditionally pushed out through other channels - sales, events, new product info.  It feels like the marketing department said we really HAVE to get on twitter - everyone else is there.   So they got an account.  But they have not yet developed a true strategy to engage with their "followers".   They likely have in depth strategies on how they will position themselves in all their other channels - why not twitter too?

I've tried to engage with @thehudsonsbayco and several other brands on twitter over the past few weeks. I've asked very deliberate questions.  Questions clearly directed at them, not just conversations where you flag a brand. I've asked questions that should be easy for the corporate tweeter to answer.  None  have been answered.  Now I don't expect 100% of my mentions of a brand to get answered.  But when I form a deliberate question directed to them I would hope that at least some would get an answer.  Maybe not right away. I understand that many brands do not have 24/7 coverage on social media.  But I do hope for an eventual answer. 

The other end of the spectrum is @xboxsupport. I tweeted a comment about a problem with our kinect. It wasn't a direct question.  So I wasn't expecting an answer.  10 minutes later I had a reply with a link to a potential fix to my problem. They then followed up with a DM to get my feedback on my level of service.  If you check the @xboxsupport twitter bio it clearly indicates they are there to engage. It also includes the hours the account is serviced.  Xbox clearly has a customer service strategy for their twitter interactions on this account (and they have other accounts that engage people in different ways).

Another brand that I've found a lot of fun to interact with is @canadianliving.  I tweeted something about a recipe of theirs I was trying.  They replied, pretty quickly on a Sunday, that I should post photos.  We had a little conversation about muffins.  And then I asked if the recipe could be done with whole wheat flour.  The tweeter told me she'd check with their test kitchen the next day (it was Sunday).  On Monday I had an answer and suggestions.  The next time I made that recipe I tried their suggestions and then I posted photos.  Not only was I happy with the customer service, but it increased the perception of their brand with my followers. Many of whom piped in about the muffins and the recipe. 

It takes a clear engagement and positioning strategy for twitter.  Just opening an account, telling people to follow you and then using it to push corporate announcements isn't enough today.   Yes it takes a lot of work to manage a successful brand twitter account.  But it has always taken a lot of work to build relationships with your customers. I don't understand why brands seem to think social media is going to be any different.  Their is this "get rich quick" mentality to using these free tools.  But twitter isn't a Kevin Costner movie, if you build it they will NOT necessarily come.

So don't just tell me to follow you.  Give me a reason to have a conversation with your brand.   Even the pied piper gave people a reason to follow him.

Do you favourite brands you follow in social media?   Do you have examples of brands who seem to get it?  Or those that are just hoping for people to show up.  Feel free to answer in the comments or @tjrossignol.  I respond within normal waking hours.

Make or break your brand

"Never doubt that a small group of concerned citizens can
change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

The growth and power of the Internet and specifically social media only makes this quote even more true today. The topic of watercooler conversation is quickly moving from last night's tv to real time issues via social media.

This is particularly true with happy or unhappy customer experiences. It takes just one unhappy customer, with the right online communities to kill a brand. Just ask Amazon after their crisis last week when they removed 'adult' titles from its sales rankings, including gay and lesbian titles. One man blogged http://markprobst.livejournal.com/15293.html about it and the response he received from Amazon. Once the issue started gaining momentum on Twitter Amazon responded that it was a glitch. That only spawned #glitchmyass website, blogs, tweets. Search #glitchmyass on twitter and you won't believe the amount of conversation on this topic.

Amazing that a long standing internet company like Amazon could make such a novice PR error in dealing with this issue.

In light of the power of this medium there is a lot of interest today in best practices on how to use social media to your companies advantage in today's world. Jennifer Lowther from 6S made a presentation on just that last night for the BCAMA.

She covered some good basics on social media. But what I wanted to hear those best practices. She feels that every project is different and things change so fast there aren't any clear best practices. But she did list off several MUST dos or do nots during her presentation (feels like best practices to me...).

1. Be real, honest and transparent - if you have something to hide it will be found on the internet
2. Plan before you go - a poor social media campaign can do more harm than good
3. At minimum you must monitor what is being said about your organization online - even if you aren't ready to jump into the social media game, people are talking about you in REAL TIME (this is also true of you as an individual - every potential employer, business partner or client will google or twitter you so you better know what it says)
4. Social media is REAL TIME - you must be prepared to deal with negative publicity or to own up to mistakes quickly, ie: Motrin, Dominos, Amazon...
5. must give more than you take... social media is a conversation not a push sales pitch
6. Be consistent in whatever you decide to do... if you start a blog make sure it is updated on a consistent timeline... so many organizations start blogging multiple times a week and then find that hard to keep up... be realistic and consistent
7. MUST have a social media policy for your staff - otherwise you could be Translink with a front page story on the Province.

The final and personal lesson is to understand the power of your online community... ie: NEVER piss off mommy bloggers.

Many of us still think of social media as a 'youth' tactic. This was demonostrated in part by Jennifer an 'expert' in her field who references using Wikipedia at University. Since University for me was 20 years ago I certainly felt old. But then Jennifer reminded me that social media is being driven by 35-50 years. And that reminds me that even as a newbie blogger my voice does matter and companies had better pay attention to it.