Saffron invited Natalie Picquot, Country Director Spain & Portugal at Twitter to speak about her experience working in one of the world’s most successful tech brands. They asked her how brands could best use the platform, here are our top takeaways:
Launching something new
Twitter is a completely public platform, where about 80% of its users follow brands. As such, it’s the perfect platform to launch new products or even new brands. Further, if your followers like what you are sharing you can potentially receive a lot of earned media through Twitter’s ‘retweet’ feature.
Listening to sentiment
Twitter is the world’s “largest focus group” so you can learn quite quickly what people are talking about, what their general opinions are on topics affecting your business or even on your products. Take their feedback seriously, check your notifications and make conclusions based on what you’re hearing.
Get involved in trends/social movements
Brands often tell Natalie Picquot that their best and not-so great moments have happened on Twitter. Having a voice and getting involved in social movements are now a must for brands since 63% of consumers globally prefer to buy goods and services from companies that stand for an idea or belief they share. It is no longer enough to have a great product, you must be great in how you show up for issues that matter to your audience.
Making wrongs right
People are turning to Twitter when brand’s customer service department does not properly handle issues. Ensure your communications team is closely linked with customer service so you can make past wrongs right again. Remember Twitter is completely public and customers expect quick action when they raise an issue. What you do or don’t do is being watched by other potential customers, do it well and you might not just win back one customer but many. Note: 60% of customers expect brands to respond to their query within an hour.
Handle crises
A crisis can strike when you least expect it and often when it’s the most inconvenient. Twitter’s speed can quickly put out the flames and communicate your side of the story. A great habit is to retweet any incriminating half truths with imagery showcasing the whole truth, this gives your voice in the matter weight and credibility. Note: Twitter is implementing software to detect if images have been manipulated digitally to protect against falsification.
Twitter is just 14 years old but has radically changed the world in a multitude of ways, now there are more than 500 million tweets sent each day. As a brand, use Twitter effectively as part of how you make brand work.
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An edited version of this article was first published by Saffron Brand Consultants.