Don’t Tweet For The Wrong Reasons « Dominic "The Hodge" Hodgson

Don’t Tweet For The Wrong Reasons

October 21st, 2009

Everywhere you look there’s a social media expert telling you the best say to launch yourself into this world of pokes, tweets and flying sheep, I was discussing with Joe over a pint a cider that to be honest, for 90% of companies out there.. Twitter isn’t a sales tool, sure its a good way to get out there and interact with customers both previous and potential.

But what agencies and these experts don’t tell you is, the best thing you can do at the moment for your company is support.

The best uses of twitter from a company stand point I’ve seen are where companies have taken a proactive stance for companies complaining or venting about products or services, Virgin Media, Affiliate Window and FreeAgentCentralare all companies that have responded or reacted in a positive way to my tweets concerning the service they provide.

I actively follow very few brands on twitter but if I have a problem and I see they are active on twitter, I will @them in a tweet (AFTER I’ve tried there usual support techniques), I firmly believe every brand should be on twitter even if its just to scan for complaints and try and resolve them.

I’ve had problems in recent weeks with tradedoubler and 1and1, the first taking many weeks to respond to emails and the latter putting the phone down on me during a complaint call where they billed me money and shouldn’t have (something which they STILL refuse to fix), Neither of these companies are actively monitoring the social space (from what I can see) and so are missing feedback, complaints and heck even testimonials..

In a space where one person’s comments can get in front of 1-1 million people within seconds, its important to respond properly and quickly (and as most people know, a quick response can hurt an upset customer into a loyal supporter)

Vote for Hodge? The word is out, the Digital Economy Bill has passed...
First Steps Into Freelancing A lot of the tutorials, articles and blog posts I’ve read about...
The Google Curse? Google has a habit of buying companies and trashing them…...
I’m Speaking At The A4UExpo So there’s only a few weeks till the A4UExpo and...
HackNorth is canceled…..and I’m gutted to be honest :( On thursday Tim and I recieved an email from AQL...