Only a Twit Would Tweet Without Purpose

Summary:Think beyond using Twitter as a billboard to spout off advertising and useless mini commercials. With the right strategy, Twitter can help you 1) build trust and authority with your consumers and 2) develop a positive, personal relationship with your consumers. These case studies show you how.

Twitter can help you in much more important ways than serving as a blatant advertising platform. What’s more important than finding yet another method to push your marketing message is building your own authority and trust with your consumers and creating a positive and personal relationship with your consumers. Twitter can help you do both.

Building Authority and Trust
Microsoft is an example of how to use Twitter to build trust with consumers. Microsoft’s website features a live stream of anything and everything people are saying about Windows 7 via social media . Because the content stream is not filtered or biased on only positive comments, Microsoft is effectively sending the message that they are confident in their product and that they value the opinions of their customers. By merging their own content on the site with consumer content (the stream), Microsoft is using social media to lend authority to their own site and their company. The community content coming from their customers carries much more authority than anything Microsoft can put up on their site themselves because it does not come from some faceless, vested insider; it comes from peers.

Building Positive Customer Relations
McDonald’s is one company effectively using Twitter to build customer relations. They accomplish this goal in several ways, but the most important way is by listening and providing feedback. Instead of ignoring unhappy customers, McDonald’s responds to individuals by asking what when wrong and asking for the opportunity to make things right on a personal level (Tweet #1). McDonald’s also effectively creates a community base by fostering conversation. They respond to simply conversational tweets about McDonald’s, not just the complaints (Tweet #2).Finally, the company shows customers that they are grateful for their business with special offers (Tweet #3).

It would be easy (yet unproductive) to use Twitter to stream ads out to consumers, but you’re smarter than that. When was the last time you signed up to willfully receive open advertising from a company without believing that the company genuinely wanted to hear from you, as well? Your consumers are no different.

Step One: Step Back

Summary: In order to successfully use social media as a marketing platform, businesses first have to change the way they interact with their audiences. Listen to your audience, then give them the information they need, not the information you need them to hear.

Many people are quick to hop on the social media wagon without any foresight or planning. The plethora of social media sites can easily send some businesses into a state of panic—a frenzy to be visible and have presence on every possible avenue. But this manner of thinking is reminiscent of the same worn-out, doesn’t-work, out-dated marketing strategy that spam emailing utilizes: “Bombard your audience with your message! Beat it into anyone and everyone!” This strategy results only in frustration and a deaf ear from your consumers.

There’s a new strategy in town, and it involves stepping back to analyze your audience, listen to what they’re saying and, in return, give them the information that they need. This strategy might be visualized in the following way:

Unfortunately, the abuse of social media sites for marketing purposes is fostering a regression to the old, out-dated way of thinking about marketing. Blasting a message through every possible avenue without considering your audience is a step backwards. Ask yourself “Why?” before you act. Consider these questions:

1. What are the goals you hope to accomplish by using social media?
2. What kind of return are you hoping to get?
3. Which social media are your audience already using?
4. What kinds of information do they want?

Your audience is already participating in one or more online communities. Find out where they are and listen to what they are saying. Don’t just toss out the message or information that you think should be heard. If you listen, your audience will tell you what they want from you and what it will take to engage them in a positive relationship.

Start Listening:
Here’s an awesome tool to help you start listening: StartPR. This application searches across social media for a keyword or phrase to see what people are saying about it.