Archive for October, 2010

How to manage (and not mismanage) your branded Twitter handle – Part 1

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Congratulations, you just registered @MyBrand and you’re now officially on Twitter. Now it’s time to gain ground on the notoriously fickle medium, carefully script tweets to sound like they aren’t scripted and explain to your boss why you don’t have 10,000 followers after your first week.

Good luck – here are a few general guidelines and pointers on what to do (and not do) with your brand’s Twitter handle.

Do: Write Tweets in a casual, friendly tone of voice, Don’t: Use Webspeak

Business speak is unwieldy, cumbersome and difficult to fit into 140 characters, and a medium like Twitter calls for a more conversational, friendly voice, so cutting and pasting from press releases isn’t effective on Twitter.

It is, however, not difficult to go from friendly and conversational to writing in Webspeak where all ur tweets lik dis n til no1 gets wat ur saying. If you think using Webspeak will help you reach a younger consumer base, take a look at three youth-oriented brands with more than 1.5 million followers each: Zappos.com online shoe store (@Zappos), Woot.com discount website (@Woot) and Threadless t-shirts (@Threadless) all use correct grammar and spelling. So there.

Do: Respond and follow for customer feedback, inquiries and complaints, Don’t: Respond to/follow everyone

Twitter is an amazing customer service and insight tool that allows companies to directly connect with their customers in real-time, receive valuable consumer feedback and get heads up on issues before they become problems. Jet Blue, the New York-based airline, joined Twitter in 2007 to help with customer service after they realized their customers were Tweeting about travel problems via smartphones and laptops at the airport. Today, @JetBlue has 1.6 million followers and the handle serves as a primary customer service resource.

Of course, not all tweets are constructive. Between spammers, hashtaggers, stalkers and swearaholics (more here), your feed can get bogged down with off-topic or unwanted messages. Responding to these messages or following their authors increase the noise that obscures your brand.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Twitter tips for your brand……

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J.D. Power Lists Top Five Consumer Trends

Monday, October 25th, 2010

J.D. Power and Associates has identified five important consumer trends that have emerged from examining social media commentary. Below is the list from the company’s press release.

Access: Consumers now have access to more information than ever before, including unprecedented access to brands and people through social networks. This access to information will continue to accelerate through the proliferation of smartphone and mobile devices. Therefore, it becomes increasingly critical for brands to provide timely and accurate information online that can be accessed through mobile devices.

Elimination of excess: Triggered by the economic downturn and environmental factors, consumers are scaling back from excess and gravitating toward simplification and minimalist lifestyles. Many seem to be pleased with these changes. For brands and marketers, this means that it is critical to reinforce the value of their products and services, and lead consumers to perceive products as essential to their lifestyles.

Quality: In response to the economic difficulties of 2008 and 2009, many consumers curtailed purchase of more expensive products, at times at the expense of quality. In 2010, consumers are increasingly questioning why low price and high quality seem to be mutually exclusive. Brands that succeed at delivering both may have a competitive advantage.

Control: With the proliferation of online information and smart devices, consumers are taking greater control over their purchase experiences, and by extension, their lives. As a result, conveying a sense of empowerment to consumers may be a particularly effective marketing theme.

Identity: Traditional notions of life stages are changing and evolving. For example, people are entering marriage and childbearing phases at a later age and the definition of retirement is changing for many Baby Boomers. Approximately 85 percent of college graduates in 2011 plan to move back in with parents after graduation. As a result, marketers must re-evaluate how they segment and target consumers, as traditional perceptions and roles may no longer apply.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=138101

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