Brands Tweeting their Way to Social Media Stardom
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If someone’s following you in real life, you’re likely to get scared and run. But if they’re following you on Twitter, you’re likely to be excited for all the right reasons. On social media, having a large reach is the first step to success, but even a tremendous reach, on its own, won’t win the hearts and minds that you’re after. Businesses are well aware of the potential here: 75% of businesses have a Twitter presence, and a full 33% of the more than half-a-billion Twitter users follow at least one brand. But how can you turn that following into successful customer action?
One key is engagement. When asked, a full 61% of brand followers stated that they wanted to offer ideas and feedback, demonstrating just how important it is to not just mass tweet to all of your followers, but to really make an effort to specifically respond to them. Furthermore, offering a special promotional offer over Twitter increases the likelihood of a conversion by a whopping 349%.
Brands that have mastered this — enticing their customers with special offers and responding to individual tweets — really stand out from the rest. One sterling example is Coca-Cola, whose tweet history is full of unique offers, clever, timely content and most importantly, attentive, personalized responses to their audience. You can see a similar theme if you look at Dominos or Starbucks, but you don’t have to be a food-and-drink company to offer something valuable on Twitter.
For example, in the banking industry, Barclays has set up a separate account for online customer engagement, and yet another for wealth and investment management, both of which have been tremendously successful for customer engagement, retention and happiness. Don’t forget, individuals who follow you on Twitter are 30% more likely to recommend you and 72% more likely to buy from you, and keeping them happy really takes very little active time and energy.
If you’re using Twitter effectively, you can transform your brand into an emotional feeling: one of trust, quality, loyalty, value, and — ultimately — evangelism. Keep everything honest, positive and keep your messaging consistent, because the world is watching. But if you follow the right path, including sharing the right content, engaging your most fervent followers, and making the right offers or call-to-actions, you could be tweeting your way to social media stardom.
-Ethan