Twitter 101

Created that company twitter account but not sure where to go with it from here? Here's our handy guide to Twitter.

Who are you talking to?
Don't start tweeting without figuring out who your target market is. Are you talking to men, women, or both? How old are they? What are their likes and dislikes? What benefit are you providing to them? Answering these questions will help set the stage.

What do you want them to do?
The number one thing you want them to do is engage! This can mean retweeting, favoriting tweets, tweeting @ your account, visiting your website, learning more, introducing them to your brand. Each of these things may eventually lead to your followers becoming clients.

What do you want to share with them?
The most important thing to know about sharing information on twitter is that you want to share timely and relevant content with your followers. This doesn't mean you can't be silly now and then (see the below tweet by ModCloth, a clothing retailer), but you generally want to cater to your audience. Relevant articles from trusted authorities, informative how-to videos, product photos, and funny jokes are all great to include in your daily tweeting regimen.

Tweets with rich media content (photos, videos, and article snippets) often get two or three times the engagement as regular tweets. Since Twitter doesn't automatically allow rich media in tweets, you will have to use a few workarounds here. Sign up for TwitPic and share YouTube videos under "Share This Video" by clicking the Twitter icon and following prompts.

What are Hashtags?
A hashtag is a word or set of words preceded by a pound sign, such as #socialmedia. Add them to your tweets to join a conversation on that topic!

How Often Do I Tweet?
Start out by tweeting 5 times per day. As you get more familiar with the platform, try different numbers and consult your analytics to determine the optimum number of tweets per day. 

How Do I Deal with Negative Tweets?
Not everyone will be a happy customer. Try to deal with these tweets by tweeting back at them immediately and directing them to an email address, live chat, phone number, or other forum for someone to address their complaint. Always stay polite and professional!


Good luck in the Twitterverse - we're rooting for you. Happy tweeting!

Facing Customer Service Issues in Public

Does your company use social media as an opportunity to handle customer complaints, or does it try to sweep negative comments under the rug? Like it or not, Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets have become a place for people to publicly air their grievances. Those companies that embrace public customer service are going to be much better off in the long run than those that resist or try to ignore these powerful communication vehicles.

In the past, customers might criticize a product or tell about a negative experience to a handful friends. Now, the whole world can know at once when something has gone wrong. (Think Alec Baldwin tweeting about his own bad behavior on an airplane – and badmouthing the airline).  There are plenty of examples of companies falling prey to one customer airing their dissatisfaction to thousands of Twitter followers or Facebook friends, but there are also great case studies about the right way to handle these oh-so-public customer complaints.

Dell was one of the first companies to use Twitter as a customer service channel, and it really improved their reputation. They have a Twitter profile @DellCares that is dedicated to customer service as evidenced by the bio: Dell's Social Media Outreach Team. 24x7 Global Support. We are here to listen, help and provide proactive info to our Customers.

Facebook recently launched private messages for Pages. Although not a completely public channel, administrators have to be ready to handle these messages, or it could turn into an ugly public conversation. Review sites like Yelp are ripe with both positive and negative customer experiences, so it’s important for companies to be aware of what their customers are saying about them online. Having a strong reputation management strategy can combat some of the negativity that is bound to plague a company at one time or another. However, providing great customer service up front goes a long way towards preventing some of that negativity.

The bottom line: public customer service is not something your company can decide it wants to do – it’s going to be out there no matter what. Embracing social media as a legitimate forum for customer service and putting systems in place to handle customer service in public is your best bet.

How does your company handle complaints that are made via social media? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments section.