Twitter, like many other social media networks, has a strong presences of hashtags (#) within the 140-characters to group topics together. According to the Wikipedia.com article on Twitter, “San Antonio-based market-research firm Pear Analytics analyzed 2,000 tweets (originating from the United States and in English) over a two-week period in August 2009 from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (CST) and separated them into six categories: Pointless babble – 40%, Conversational – 38%, Pass-along value – 9%, Self-promotion – 6%, Spam – 4%, News – 4%. ” This data can be seen in the graph to the right.I find it interesting to note that the most likely reason for a tweet is pointless babble as this is not what a business would want to use Twitter for. It is hard for me to figure out what category businesses might fall into. My first insticnt is to say Spam as that is often what I think businesses are really doing although they are more likely under self-promotion or news, depending on what they are tweeting. Business could also be part of the conversational piece of the pie when they are dealing with customer service issues or speaking directly with a customer rather than just adding their latest ad to the mix of babble on Twitter.
From a consumer end there are many great ways to use twitter, namely to complain when something goes wrong. When things go wrong the first thing people want to do is complain and twitter gives people that opportunity with the probable chance the company will respond within a day to make it better. This has been true for me with a number of companies including my cable/internet providers, Fitbit, and even Creative Conners. When working at Long Wharf Theatre we had a show with an automated turntable as part of the set. Creative Conners is the company that made the software and automation equipment we were using. During the technical rehearsal process we were having some trouble so I jumped on twitter to contact the company to help us trouble shoot. As displayed they offered some assistance in a very timely manner greatly aiding in our process. Twitter has allowed companies a new way of completing customer service. Many companies have added secondary accounts that are strictly customer service help lines. For example, Travelocity has two twitter feeds, @Travelocity and @TravelocityHelp. The help account is specifically towards helping those who are having problems or who have had problems. The company responds to those that have tweeted at them specifically and even those that just use the company name. Depending on what the problem is the company can offer an apology or assistance with resolving the problem, most often by switching the to Direct Messaging (DM) service. As consumers we should also remember to thank companies for their excellent service, not just crush them with complaints.
From a business to business perspective, Twitter can be a useful way for a business to see what is happening in their industry or in the markets their business effects. It has been said that Twitter messages can travel faster than earthquakes and other breaking news. This can be very useful to businesses as if your product or immediate supply chain is impacted by the earthquake you can begin responding quickly having heard the news from Twitter. A business could also use Twitter to pose a question to the great unknown for finding alternative suppliers or other resources affected by the disaster. The immediacy of Twitter can be a great advantage to users who have a strong network. While many feel they need lots of followers sometimes it is better to know a few users really well rather than barely know anyone. For businesses, this strategy of knowing who you follow and who follows you could help during a disaster.
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