Social Media- The Twitter Test

Over the past few months, I have used Twitter to get in touch with some companies and have been quite amazed at how well some companies use the medium while others fail to leverage its interpersonal potential. So, at the risk of sounding like a social media marketing guru (which I am NOT. In any way), I thought I would test out a couple of companies to see how they use Twitter.

Before I talk about the results, I just want to highlight what I think is the purpose of Twitter. It is to link you with someone else in a way that you wouldn't normally link and yet seems personal as well. It warms you to the "product". There are a couple of companies that use Twitter really well- they communicate with their followers, respond to them and interact with them.  Now, that said, there are some companies that flood the ether with their tweets, almost like they are trying to block you reading their competitors messages. King of Shaves (US)- I am looking at you.

So, between 7.30- 8:15 am AEST on Friday, I tweeted (importantly, NOT Direct Message) eight shaving companies with a different question specifically related to their business in one way or another. Seven were Australian and one (Somerset Shave) was American. Here are the response times:

• Dollar Shave Club Australia- Twitter + DM reply in 2 hours.
• BadHairBoyAU- Twitter reply in 3.5 hours (they are in 2 hours behind AEST)

After 14 hours:

• SomersetShave- Zip
• Shaver Shop- No response
• Trishave- Nadda
• Mansupply- Naught
• BladeRunnersOZ- Zero
• AussieShave- Nil

60 hours later, still nothing.

Since starting this blog, I have been impressed with the Twitter use of both Dollar Shave Club, who use their twitter as an customer service portal and reinforcing that feeling of "Club", and BadHairBoyAU, who seems to use his account as a cross between a personal and business account. Both these companies have an exceptionally good track record at Twitter communication and interaction. They make you feel like you are getting personalised service.

Some companies establish this "public" conversation with their clients really well. Uber, a really cool on-demand car service using a smart phone app to make reservation for your private driver, is an example of this. Uber Melbourne and Sydney use Twitter to converse with, and announce to, their customers. That way, their customers feel like an important part of the company and are (dare I use a social media pun) "linked in" to the company. Dollar Shave Club and BadHairBoy are two (shaving) company's who are also doing this as well.

Uber - A great service and
great example of effective use of twitter

To the others... look, your products might be great. (And Trishave- your email customer service is outstanding.) But.. Twitter is a medium your customers are using now. Perhaps your management should consider looking into it. Being more pro-active on social networks, especially twitter, can be only beneficial to your products, sales and reputation.

Does anyone what to make a comment about any of the company's Facebook pages? I look forward to your comments.