I know Twitter can seem daunting. Tweeters can be caustic about your brand in 140 characters; for companies, responding appropriately in such a small space is challenging. But connecting with these influential customers on an individual basis is a key word-of-mouth opportunity. Once you’ve secured an account for your brand and started listening, you should:
Engage brand supporters and detractors early and often. Nothing is more powerful than reaching a customer at a crossroads with your product and making her happy. If you monitor people’s tweets about your brand, you’re able to respond quickly to them — and help solve their problems. This works with brand fans as well; brand feedback inspires them to spread their enthusiasm further.
Provide brand content participants want to share. Use tweets to serve up content that’s timely, exclusive, and spreadable. Promotions, early product previews, and contests all make tweets happen. How to track success? Count how often you’re re-tweeted.
Manage your brand on Twitter with dedicated staff. Twitter needs to be part of somebody’s job, not just a hobby; if you respond sporadically, that sends a worse message than being absent altogether. You need staff to listen, respond, and analyze your brand mentions. The most successful companies on Twitter have teams in place to evaluate how followers interact with them, what processes they need, and what insights should influence their marketing strategy — and to gain intelligence from what’s said about the brand overall.
Promote your Twitter presence. While your Web site is your brand’s digital hub, the most likely tweeters are people who turn to social applications regularly. We recommend promoting your Twitter account on social network pages, communities, and blogs. By tapping into a group of social consumers first, you can make your tweets more visible. For example, Best Buy promotes its “Twelpforce” of Twitter helpers on TV and the Web, and shows its full stream of support tweets on twitter.com/twelpforce and its own site.
Understand what tweets work. Observe what people re-tweet about your brand and how they respond to what you say. Because your goal is to engage people on Twitter, identifying which tweets resonate will help you build your presence quickly.
