Over the last 6-12 months we’ve seen a real shift on Twitter with a lot more talk about Businesses using it to support various aspects of what they do.
Much has been written about businesses using Twitter badly – but I’d be interested to hear some examples of businesses that use Twitter well.
Which businesses use Twitter well? What are they doing to make you think this?
Let me ask it a little differently:
Which businesses do you follow on Twitter? Why do you follow them?
I’m interested to hear your thoughts.
@NateDesmond
I do not follow any businesses on Twitter. I only follow people.
Thanks,
Nate
@friarsride
I’ve followed a few motorcycle vendors (aftermarket parts and accessories) but most don’t know how to use Twitter yet. They are constantly pimping their website or posting mass quantities of “specials.” I generally unfollow them fairly quickly. The businesses I keep following tend to be smaller custom bike building shops. But those accounts aren’t faceless company mouthpieces, they’re real people with real personalities and something to contribute past their business endeavors.
On my other Twitter account (JohnBedard) I follow small local and regional businesses in my profession, but again you can see real people behind those businesses or I unfollow them. The only exception is the local newspaper.
@bigdan1122
If I look at someones profile on Twitter and see they might be a support business that I might have need for in the future, ie marketing, Technology, finance, advertising, etc I will follow them, As a Realtor I would also follow Realtors in other geographic areas as a means to identify them as understanding technology and would keep them in mind for possible referral business to their areas.
@MrMakeupGeek
I follow Amazon’s Game Deals id — I’ve scored some nice deals that way.
It also works good for our Makeup Geek store. I post product updates (when product lines get restocked) and when we have new products. We always get a burst of sales afterwards and people actually thank me for the updates. Everyone wins.
As long as you don’t abuse it, it works great!
@lunaKM
I follow businesses related to my niche. I follow them in case they offer special deals, discounts and to notify me of services that might interest me or my readers.
@kboon
I like companies who let an employee have their own identity… Shannon Paul from the Detroit Red Wings is one who comes to mind and Monty from Ford. Like Nate said I want to connect with people not corporate PR departments.
@dyphan
I follow audio/speaker companies. Mostly because I’m interested in them and needed help setting up my Klipsch speakers. It was easier to get someone from the company through the twitter than calling their offices.
@AjJi
It depends on what businesses are you talking about. But, mostly, my followers are people and some known IT blogs.
@hectorhenry17
I fallow some blogs that i dont know if they can be consider business, but if so yes i fallow some.
good question.
@saltlinestudio
I follow these businesses:
@wholefoods
@google
@binendswine (one of my clients)
@JugShop
@caocigars
I follow them b/c I am either interested in their product, or I want to get to know the type of personality their business is.
@wholefoods has done an amazing job with their social networking and I would say is one of the more successful and creative businesses on Twitter.
@rethansmith
I follow woot.com just to see the new deal of each day. I also follow Zappos.com CEO – Tony. He has done very well in promoting the Zappos brand and conveying Zappos image to his followers. He is also a down-to-earth guy who sprinkles in a few necessary and well placed personal tweets. The last business I keep tabs on is SouthWest. Southwest uses twitter to shout out deals, and also as a way to keep tabs on customers to ensure that their experience with Southwest is a positive one. Like Zappos, whoever runs Southwest manages to sprinkle in a perfect amount of personality and humor to keep things interesting and less “businessy”.
@johnhood
I’m following video games companies! Sega deserves special mention for actively engaging with followers!
@hughmc
Hmm, i don’t really follow any businesses! I think a few follow me tho hah.
@merewilliams
@wholefoods Why? They treat twitter as a concierge service and I love that. They answer customer questions, respond to feedback, tweet alerts about food issues, new stores, live chats… as a customer, it’s wonderful.
@pnwfitness
I guess what do you consider a business? I follow some marketers and personal trainers, but huge corps… no.
@sethjenks
I have been really impressed with @ravenjon with Raven SEO software. They have used twitter to provide amazing customer service.
@CottonOn – Clothing stores based in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Has a huge amount of follows for only a few tweets – Obviously a well liked brand.
@vanessadale
I don’t follow businesses but many of my follows are in business. I have to agree with Nate, I follow people and a wide array (with some limitations) because I want to know what various people are saying, doing and into.
@omahonydonnelly
@vodafoneireland – provides help when asked;
@googleatwork, @yahoo, @adcenterblog – to keep up with what the SEs are saying; @wordtracker – for news, announcements, help if needed;
@blacknight -for service announcements, help if needed; A number of media peeps, to numerous to list, to keep up on news in various categories;
@campaignmonitor for advice on using service;
@curiouswines – because I’m a regular purchaser; a number of peep and businesses in web development and online marketing to keep an eye on things.
@lastres0rt
I mostly follow other webcomics folks. I follow other folks/businesses too, but webcomics folks specifically.
@labsRus
I follow National Geographic, Cesar Millan, Humane Society, Best Friends Animal Society, lots of pet rescue groups and online pet-related businesses. Also blogs such as your’s. I do it to keep up with what’s happening RIGHT NOW, learn, and connect with businesses I would not normally have access to. Fast & easy – love it!
@davidkspencer
There are three ways I think a business does well on Twitter: getting the culture and being a part of it, letting their employees who get the culture be a part of it (representing them well in the process), or being so in-demand that people just follow them to hear what they have to say.
I work for EMC Corporation and I think we’re doing a great job at that second method (so are a few of our competitors, makes things interesting
). I think companies like Comcast and Bank of America are doing a good job with the first method. And companies like Google are going to get followed “just because” and have the third method in their pockets (and don’t need to worry about the first two).
@divinewrite
I usually follow people, not companies. (Although some have company handles.) However, most of them represent a company – either their own or one they work for. No point listing them all. I only follow the ones who I think are doing well. If you really want to see who they are, just check out the 93 people I follow: http://twitter.com/divinewrite/friends .
However, two who come to mind immediately (who work for BIG companies) are employees, and they’re doing a great PR job for their employers:
@jonoh (Telstra) – He occasionally discusses new Telstra stuff, but also asks for feedback and suggestions.
@ozdj (Commonwealth Bank of Australia) – He recently announced that the bank’s phone lines were down and invited customers to contact him directly through Twitter.
Both are very approachable and offer a good balance of personal and professional subject matter.
Cheers.
Cheers.
@CoolTweets
I follow Google, Mozilla, Twitter, the envato family, the Memphis Grizzlies, HootSuite, BuySellAds, and Sitepoint as far as companys go and i follow them all for the same reason. to get the inside scoop on what they have going on before “everybody else” knows about it. special promos, beta dl’s, etc. theyre pretty much all companies that i use regularly in some way
@integralapparel
It seems the art, illustration and design world seem to get some good exposure and business from twitter. The art world is A LOT smaller then we all think. The ability to share, comment and “whore” yourself out while maintaining contacts with other artists is well worth the time I spend on Twitter. Even if 1 person doesn’t buy an item or contact me for freelance, I learned so much more from others like me. ART FTW!
@marismith
I love to follow @zappos – ‘cuz I know for sure it’s CEO Tony Hsieh tweeting and he often DM’s me if I tweet him something fun like a Twitpic of the airport security bins with their ads. lol. I love how Zappos has over 450 employees with Twitter accounts and they provide Twitter training. I’ve met Tony several times and we recently shared the stage at a couple of back to back events. Though Zappos is a billion dollar company, they are so REAL, so hip, so “guy next door” kind of company and I love to follow them. Imho, they are leading the entire pack on how to integrate social media into customer experience.
I also follow @traderjoes @wholefoods @starbucks @souplantation @southwestair @google and many, many others. Unlike @zappos, none of these other companies tweet (or DM) back to me when I tweet about them… but they might one day, which is why I keep following them.
Cheers,
Mari
I recently Followed a photographer who combined twitter with his youtube channel to offer live twitter feedback during a large 9 hour studio shoot. You could twitter questions and feedback while not only receiving answers on twitter but demonstrations in regular youtube posts based on the twitter posts.
@jensenrf
I follow a few web services I use as another way to get updates from the team but truly most of them started following me first after I tweeted about them.
I also follow a number of stores and business from the city I live in. For me, Twitter has become another way to support local and help spread the word to a greater audience.
@Allyinspirit
I mainly follow people in areas that relate to my own ‘passions’ of art & design, photography & video, creative writing, natural health & healing, ecology & environmental innovation * Holistic living in general with a tinge of high tech.
Knowing that most of us are in business in one form or another as well, our personal networking brings an added dimension to our business life.
@johnhaydon
Darren,
Yesterday, I received an email from a company that I buy organic Yerba Mate (tea) from. Their service is top notch and I’ve always been blown away by their products.
Their email announced that they are now on Twitter: @AvivaYerbaMate
I’m curious to see how they translate their brand onto Twitter.
John
@kathywinter
I follow people/orgs in healthcare and PR since that’s the field where I work. I also follow news orgs in the markets our hospitals are in.
@livingstonmedia
I follow wholefoods and starbucks, I think. But also a ton of breweries (Shipyard, Gritty’s, Stone, Dogfish Head, Rouge, Flying Dog, the list goes on) because of the nature of my blog (a beer blog). And a few other websites which are also businesses, like google, fetchdog.com, and @CouponLanding, that sort of thing. I think some people have a negative stigma about following businesses because, well, they’re businesses. but sometimes I think it’s more fun to follow them just for that reason, especially if they’re businesses that actually interact with the people who follow them.
@steyblind
Kodak’s chief blogger Jennifer Cisney (@kodakCB) was pretty fantastic. Answered several questions about the Kodak Zi6 HD cam, and helped me compare it to my Mino HD. She even checked to see if Kodak offered a trade-in on the Mino (they didn’t), but yea. She sold me on the Zi6.
@KnightOfShaddai
Most of the time, I’ll follow people. I’m interested in news, discussion, useful blog posts, etc. and businesses don’t generally provide those things. However, there are some businesses that I use to follow because they offered special deals in their tweets. If the business was more engaging the community and would respond to questions, then I’d probably be more likely to follow them too.
@kellieparker
@JohnHood — thanks for mentioning Sega! I run the @segaamerica twitter feed and I do my best to both push useful information out as well as interact with our followers and people tweeting about us and our games.
On my personal account, I follow @wholefoods, @zappos, @southwestair and a few others. But I agree that @wholefoods and @zappos do the best with their feed.
I’m also interested in how the broadcast media has used twitter. Rick Sanchez from CNN uses it in his show regularly. The Rachel Maddow Show has used several twitter accounts — one for the guest list, one to inform people when the show video and podcast go live, another for @maddow herself. They even showed her reading twitter on camera the other night.
@heblogssheblogs
I follow multiple businesses in different niches. As long as their tweets serve up helpful info or are entertaining, I’ll follow them. As a business owner myself, I know that the businesses I follow will likely follow me in return, which increases the likelihood of us establishing a connection. Several of my Twitter connections have resulted in new clients, so I can’t complain!
Laura Christianson
Co-owner, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com
Business & Corporate Blogging Services
I’d be interested in some perspective on what would constitute Twitter spam from companies that are using Twitter, especially for geographically-targeted businesses. For example, I’m in the real estate services business and frequently search on search.twitter.com for terms like refinance, mortgage, etc. If I come across someone that has tweeted that they are doing a refinance in Ohio and I happen to know I offer the lowest cost closing services in Ohio, is it OK for me to @ reply to them with a helpful tip on that topic with an implied plug since it is coming from my business Twitter account? I don’t like to Follow people first for the purpose of DMing because to me that does feel invasive, plus I think a lot of true spammers have a huge Following total compared to Followers. I think my approach offers value directly in context to what the person is tweeting, but it has been suggested to me that my preferred approach of contacting people via @ reply without first having a follow relationship is spam…I don’t personally interpret the Twitter rules that way, but I welcome any suggestions.
@snowvandemore
I had a very nice experience with @overstock last week. A follower of mine and I were discussing a product available on their website and whether shipping was available overseas.
Joe @overstock chimed in and explained how my friend could order the item.
It was an awesome experience and I made sure Joe knew he was much appreciated.
@robmcguire
I follow a few companies on Twitter and only because I can tell there’s a real person behind the avatar. Too many businesses start up a twitter account and fail to connect with people, but there are a few that do get it right.
@divinewrite
Tom, that’s a great question! One that I haven’t seen discussed anywhere else yet (despite the overwhelming amount of twitter-related discussion going around at the moment). I’d be really interested to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.
For me personally, it kinda depends on who’s doing the approaching. I had an ‘IT guy’ @ reply me once when I complained of computer problems, and when I checked out his profile, he was offering all sorts of services, from sheep husbandry to basket weaving! (Well, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the picture.) Needless to say, I didn’t take him up on his offer, and I interpretted his approach as spam.
If, on the other hand, someone qualified, focussed and well-meaning approached me with a highly relevant offer, I MIGHT interpret it differently. I say ‘MIGHT’ ‘cos it hasn’t really happened.
Thanks for a good question.
Cheers.
Glenn
@omahonydonnelly
I find if someone from a related business replies to me with an answer to a question I’ve asked or joing in a conversation I’m having, as long as the input is relevant and not pushy and sounding spammy (Yeah I realised that is subjective and a one person’s idea of a good approach may not be the same as anothers, but that’s me).
I absolutely am turned off if I am having a conversation on Twitter and out of the blue a related business chimes in directly offering services. For example, I was discussing how much I hate recruitment agencies with one other user that agreed with me; then all of a sudden an reply pops up. “Hi I am from XYZ Recruitment and I’d be happy to help you with your recruitment needs” So that was either an automated response because I used that phrase or a really stupid user that just reinforced my opinion of that industry! There’s bad marketing/sales practices in all forms of media, online and off!
@divinewrite
Hi Ann! (Didn’t I just see you over at the SEO self regulation community site?) That’s a classic example – the recruitment one. Made me laugh out loud! Thanks.
@leapzone
As a Brand Builder and Business Performance Coach, I am truly fascinated by Entrepreneurs’ Behavior, Business Growth and Massive Success. I am passionate about people that continually raise the bar and expand their comfort zone to live their life like they really want to…in the NOW!…here are some of those people:
@tferriss / @alexmandossian / @skydiver / @CommonCraft / @BarackObama / @ solutionbox
@sirdickbranson / http://www.marcusbuckingham.com/home.php
@djchriscuz
I didn’t get it at first but I love how other peoples Tweets dont end up on your timeline. Unlike Myspace comments where celebrites and businesses comment boxes has become a space to promote a bunch of bs like parties, bands, and websites.
Glenn, you are right that the use of Twitter outlined in my previous comment is not really being discussed anywhere, which was quite frustrating to me as I seek the proper boundaries of how to use Twitter for our firm. I suppose it is a tough thing to rule on definitively because it takes judgement in how it is executed by the marketer and interpreted by the recipient, so lots of gray area.
Just to add some further color to my comment, my plan is to use this approach for 2 weeks to see what kind of attention it garners. Thus far I’ve reached out to perhaps 15 people in this manner without complaint from THEM; however, 2 of our competitors in the industry have taken it as an opportunity to accuse us of being spammers in the Twitter stream.
@identifyourself
I think the most successful businesses on Twitter – those people are most likely to follow – engage followers on a more personal level. They have a real person whose personality shines through, and put out an interesting mix of tweets. Over time, you can feel that you’re getting to know that person, and that builds trust in the brand as well. I don’t really want to know what they had for breakfast, but do like to see personal updates sprinkled in with product or service updates – letting everyone know that yes, this is a real individual (not “the corporation”), and that they’re not unlike me — that they have common experiences, thoughts, sense of humor, etc.
I really like businesses that are directly helping their followers and would-be customers with the power of Twitter – polling on favorite flavors, timely specials, sneak peek into new things on their biz horizon, helping other businesses connect with one another.
@52teas for doing it right, @identify_urself for that good mix I mentioned, and for spearheading local TweetUp efforts for others to benefit, @ironhorsehotel for timely looks into this cool boutique hotel, its specials and for supporting local TweetUps!
Some of my favorites
@identify_urself
Twitter has quickly become an essential tool to my small business. I can’t believe how many new contacts I’ve made in the past three weeks. We are coupling Twitter networking with the Milwaukee small business network to bring people together at a TweetUp and drive individual business success. The thought being that if more people know who you are and what you do you will eventually end up with more clients and more success. FYI – the TweetUp in in Milwaukee on April 7th, check out my website for more information.
@MadlabPost
I like Nate’s response and it almost sets the tone for comments on this particular Twitip post. Following businesses can be overwhelming since you will more than likely get multiple tweets each day about sales, products and promotions from businesses hawking their wares. However, some businesses are worth following if you are looking for gifts, specialty items, services or information. I follow craft artists who may happen to run a small crafts business. I also may start following certain small movie theaters so that I can help them promote their showtimes.
The number of independent movie theaters in the U.S. are getting smaller and smaller. I just found out that one of my favorite theaters closed in November and felt bad because if I kept visiting the website, I would have already knew and could offer some support instead of finding out 4-5 months later. Movie theaters and film festivals may be the only businesses that I would follow on twitter. I would love to support indie theaters by posting their showtimes on my blog. It is not easy keeping up with 20 plus theaters by visiting their individual websites so twitter can make it much easier to see what movie is playing where and when.
Film Festivals may not be an actual business but they are in the business of selling tickets so that may qualify. Graphic design businesses may also be worth following on twitter. Other than that, I do not think that twitter is the best place for businesses, especially if they are only focused on their bottom line. Following people is much more fun.
@divinewrite
Tom: Interesting… I’d love to hear how that goes, if you’d care to report back here. Thanks mate!
@howtobemobile
I follow topics! Using tweetdeck i’ve got my topics set to search.. and THEN i follow interesting/related people!
If I only followed people… I think i’d get more than i need.
@envisiongroup
I follow other advertising and marketing agencies to keep my finger on the pulse of my industry. I also follow several ad/branding industry IDs.