Twitter. It’s time for brands and agencies to get more inventive.
The more time I spend on Twitter, the more excited I get about the creative opportunities this amazing platform affords brands and agencies.
While there are plenty of brands already using Twitter – GM, Comcast, JetBlue, Dell, and Starbucks to name a few– many of them are simply applying old media applications to one of the most exciting new mediums to emerge in decades.
Consider that Comcast and BofA use it for the most basic customer service. Starbucks does little more than announce offers and engage in some dialog with customers about those offers. Jet Blue micro blogs special deals and weather updates. All of these serve a purpose, but are they as inventive as they could be?
Instead, maybe brands and their creative teams (and by the way that includes the folks from PR, technology and media, not just the writer and art directors) should start with what Twitter enables: the chance to connect with, learn from, influence, and maybe even mobilize like-minded people who in and of themselves comprise the best free medium anywhere.
Sure you can do all the things you did in other media on Twitter. But isn’t the real opportunity is to do something as new as the medium itself.
Here are some suggestions to get you thinking. Hope you’ll share your ideas, too.
Lowes (just 200 followers and eight days between tweets) could start a grass roots movement to rebuild America. Using search.twitter.com and other tools they could identify community activists interested in constructing playgrounds or fixing schools, announce a contest to provide supplies and know-how, solicit proposals, announce winners and tweet on the results and impact. In the process they’d generate thousands of followers and plenty of positive press.
Barnes and Noble could tweet an announcement of a new partnership with 826 Valencia to teach literacy skills to at risk kids. They could identify all the writers on Twitter, promote volunteer opportunities, connect willing tutors with one of the 826 chapters around the country, and in doing so endear themselves to a community of writers, readers, and teachers. A hash tag could collect the experiences of everyone involved, possibly even generating enough content for book in and of itself.
Barnes and Noble would get credit as a brand that cares. They would attract the loyalty of followers who share the same values. And finally, for those who still believe in the value of long term thinking, they’d be inspiring a future generation of readers.
UnderArmour could build a following of athletes and tri-athletes then foster a dialog and exchange of training tips, resources and diet information to help athletes improve their performance. They could even host and moderate a weekly panel using tinychat.com.
Some of the advice could come from UnderArmour themselves, but much of it would come from the willingness of athletes given the chance to participate. In the process UnderArmour would position themselves as a training authority and acquire even more faithful followers.
Nearly 2500 brands have taken the initiative to tweet and connect. But as with any technology the art isn’t in what Twitter does, it’s in what you do with it. What will it be?
Comments
Great post! I love your focus on leveraging online groups and their collective power. Brands have never before had such power to be the leader of a group of like-minded individuals - bringing people together and giving them reason and amunition to act as a collective.
New "modern/digital" corporate social responsibility programs really seem to fit with the principles of social media and now is a great time for brands to really figure out how to engage with their community for the betterment of their brand, their cutomers and the collective good of all.
Edward,
The central question posed in the original post was this: "Isnu00e2u0080u0099t the real opportunity is to do something as new as the medium itself?" That question sounds more like a marketer's infatuation with newness and innovation more than a marketer who balances the goals and objectives of the organization with the needs and problems of consumers.
The most recent way you phrase your questions seem much more on track: "Sure, [marketers] have to get the basics right... But won't there need to be more? Especially as the Millennial generation takes over?" That approach to the situation starts factoring the target audience in. What might Millenials want, need or expect from companies (online or otherwise) in the future? Good question. Let's start there.
Great insight Edward. The potential for creativity on Twitter is astounding and I agree that it's time agencies pushed their clients to take advantage. Thanks again for the good read.
Tom:
Will pass your idea on to Bud. News as it happens.
Edward
Jeffrey:
We are not in disagreement. There is validity to everything you say. And yes, any brand that's out there engaging, responding, listening and trying to connect deserves credit. Even if it's simply for trying. No argument from me on any of that front. I am simply trying to light a bit of a fire underneath the brands and agencies that aren't out there, imploring them not only to use the new mediums but to try and be inventive with what they can do with them as well. It's likely that the era of websites and microsites will go away (other than transactional sites) and all content will be distributed. Communities will be created by consumers as much as by brands (see Gen-we.org) and brands will be celebrated as much for their actions in support of the beliefs and convictions of their target audience as well as for their products and services they offer. Sure, they have to get the basics right, and kudos to those who do. But won't there need to be more? Especially as the Millennial generation takes over?
Edward
Edward, I think you're on to something with the idea of social media for social causes. IMO, cause-related marketing may be THE killler app for Twitter and maybe all social media.
But stepping outside that to take on your challenge, here's an idea for a brand.
Budweiser. Bud's got a bunch of problems. Younger people are abandoning beer for other adult beverages. Worse, microbrews make more interesting beers (in every sense) and have more personality. And foreign beers are more exotic and fun.
Bud's market is fragmenting, bigtime. Why not use Twitter to bring that market back together for a party?
How about a Budweiser American Tweetup in Philadelphia, held on the 4th of July weekend, sponsored by America's beer? Imagine using Twitter to spread the news of a party for America MC'd by @scobleizer. I'm thinking free beer and BBQ, a battle-of-the-bands that can only be entered via Twitter, and challenging Expedia, Orbitz etc to Tweet their best Philly airfare and hotel deals, etc etc. Also, why not challenge the Twitterverse to figure out how best to use the event to make America better? Should Bud do canned food collections for food pantries? Should Bud feed Philly's homeless if enough Twitterers show up? Why not challenge everyone to come up with a better idea and give a prize for the best one. And, since I'm an old-school ad guy, I'd encourage people to Flickr and Vimeo their friends and share the party with the world. Bud could also shoot its own footage and use Visual World to run national commercials customized locally: people in Baltimore would see only people from Baltimore, people from St. Louis would only see people from St. Louis, etc.
It's something that only "America's beer" could pull off: encouraging all of America to co-create a national party. Beer is a social thing, why not make it a social media thing?
P.S. If anyone from Bud comes across this idea and likes it, here's my offer: I'll sell the idea to you for $1.00. All I ask is that you say "Original idea by @tjcnyc on Twitter" on all promo materials year one and give me an exclusive interview on my blog to break the news. Deal?
Two questions, two different kinds of answers:
1. u00e2u0080u009cWhat are the new ways in which Twitter can be utilized?u00e2u0080u009d
2. u00e2u0080u009cWhat is the best way for an individual company to maximize Twitter?u00e2u0080u009d
One hears a lot about u00e2u0080u009cinnovationu00e2u0080u009d and u00e2u0080u009cnew ideasu00e2u0080u009d when little attention is given to the benefits to the consumer/audience. Surely, marketers are praised by fellow marketers when they do something innovative, but it should always circle back directly to what people need.
As someone intimated here (about Comcast), customer service is a challenge for some companies. Iu00e2u0080u0099d venture that most consumers would prefer companies improve their customer service vs. expanding CSR via Twitter. If youu00e2u0080u0099ve got room for improvement in customer service, start there u00e2u0080u0094 despite the fact that it may not be u00e2u0080u009csexyu00e2u0080u009d or u00e2u0080u009coriginal.u00e2u0080u009d If Twitter helps you improve customer service, great.
Some may feel the u00e2u0080u009crace is onu00e2u0080u009d to find exciting new ideas for Twitter. I contend that most companies canu00e2u0080u0099t even master the basics... not just w/respect to Twitter, but the broader concepts affecting sales and marketing. Marketing should always solve a problem. If getting your CSR initiatives out there and engaging more people is your problem, then these "new uses" for Twitter may be good for you. But all those social media gurus who say "creating engagement" is what it's all about are wrong. Creating engagement is a strategy to achieve something more; it's a means to an end. In business, CEOs need to see Web 2.0 tools connect back to the bottom line. More "engagement" around a CSR program seems less productive than customer service initiatives.
My focus is retail financial services, so I tend to draw on examples within my realm of experience. I only defend BofA because they are the biggest financial institution actively using Twitter in a way that directly benefits their customers. There are a lot of financial institutions on Twitter, and few have found the sweet spot that @BofA_help has. BofA is proactively monitoring Twitter for conversations (mostly complaints), then reaching out. One thing is for sure, BofA isnu00e2u0080u0099t going to get burned by the Twitterati with a Motrin-gate scandal.
To be clear: BofA has not ever been a client (directly or indirectly), nor is it likely they ever will be. I like the company and am sympathetic to their current plight, but I have no motive to defend BofA.
fwiw, I was a creative director for 12+ years. I appreciate your role and responsibilities with respect to generating new ideas and getting folks to think u00e2u0080u009cout of the box.u00e2u0080u009d
I totally agree! Iu00c2u00b4m absolutely thrilled by all these new opportunities on Twitter. I believe that one of the reasons why it isnu00c2u00b4t used jet in a creative way is, that you need a good longterm strategy and actually build up a community. All the marketing guys, sitting behind their desk are used to send out an ad that schould do the job of talking to their customers for them. If they engage in Twitter, they can actually talk back! And I think that is what most of them scares the most.
But there is noc change to escape these changes...so everybody has to lear to deal with it, sooner or later.
VIVA LA REVOLUTION!
Jeffry:
Thanks for comments. Would love to chat more. Appreciate your honesty. Not trying to dis the brands that are there, BUT I am interested in whether or not social media doesn't offer an opportunity to create and invent (not for invention sake) new things, set new objectives, connect around shared beliefs and causes, or something I've yet to think of. My job is to try and generate ideas and get people to think about possibilities.
Edward
P.S. For a journalist you're awfully defensive regarding BofA. (my bank, by the way, I like them.)
Your post is spot on, thanks for your thoughtful creativity. The possibilities are truly endless! I do find it humorous that in your Comcast example you fail to mention just how revolutionary "basic customer service" was for that company. They're using the tool to reach out and actually make their customer service 1) real and 2) two-way. By doing so, they're quickly reversing the huge negative associated with their brand. Before long, people online will talk more about @comcastcares than they do about "sleeping comcast guy on hold." And I think it would have been a huge failure if they tried to ignore the customer service opportunity twitter provides before moving on to something more creative or flashy.
And I'm assuming you skipped over @zappos because they're the poster child for twitter use, but for those out there looking for some initial best practices, such as company-sponsored tweetups and the like, @zappos is a great place to start.
Phhhbbbttt... None of your suggestions are new or original either. You are simply suggesting that companies take their Corporate Social Responsibility programs and other charitable activities to Twitter. Big deal...
You can poke fun at BofA for using Twitter for customer service, but it's clearly working for them. They are saving customer relationships daily, and doing so in a tech-savvy way that says positive things about the organization.
Rather than trying to find new ways for the tail to wag the dog, why not try to figure out what what Twitter users might really benefit from? What do they really want? What could they really use?
People who are bored with the status quo are the kind that innovate for innovation's sake. They just cross their fingers and hope it works.
Smart innovators see a need and fill it. What you're suggesting is that marketers do something because others aren't -- not compelling enough, imo.
Let's see - what Twitter followers want...jobs, savings, bits of useful info on things they care about, referrals, connections to people they couldn't talk to otherwise,connections to like-minded people, visibility- and to be heard. Yep-pretty much is what networking is all about.
Smart innovators will see that Twitter is actually already filling that need - and that their job is to come up with how to boost, direct, or organize the networking experience for a group of followers. Of course, in a way that is mutually beneficial. By the way, what actually is Phhhbbbttt?
.-= Mary Kureku00c2u00b4s last blog ..The Ideal Chamber - August 2009 =-.
Edward,
Great post, we need more of this line of thinking/creativity. Yes, Twitter might be/is a good customer service tool, but it can be so much more. Thanks for priming the pump!
Jeff @socialmedia411
Thanks, will add kfc to brands I follow, though noted they don't have many followers. Could use some help, I think.
Edward
Fantastic post Edward! I haven't heard of a company sponsoring a TweetUp yet, which I think could/should be more corporate citizenship, less profiteering. Like a family summer picnic at a city park sponsored by @kfc_colonel, who, by the way, is very responsive and very funny. KFC provides all the fixings, music, blankets, etc. Suggested donations of $10 go to fill-in-the-blank charity. The people at the event would (naturally) be connected content creators and would tweet tweet tweet about the event later, linking to a simple event page and photos. All you need is a client willing to dive in and let Twitter do its thing.
Hi Edward,
Nice post. I was thinking this week that with the economy the way it is, we need a better mechanism for old fashion barter. You know " I'll weed and landscape your lawn if you fix my car..." or "I'll help you write your resume and pitch letters if you can babysit for my child for 3 evenings." It would certainly foster a greater sense of community too.
@sarahmontague
Thanks for suggestion. Will check out Jack and possibly use in future.
Great post - but I would have loved to see you mention what Jack in the Box is doing with @jackbox. In my opinion its a great integration of on and offline ad efforts (there are other social media elements as well.) It's amusing to watch and just plain unique.
@rachelakay
@jgshort, thanks. and good point about not for profits. In fact that was going to be one of my next posts. Assume you saw the twestival for water?
Great post. Brands cannot continue to use the same methods on twitter. Twitter was created to change the way we communicate (140 chars) on it.
It is a great springboard for social movements. I am surprised more non-profits have not turned to it to update people on projects they are working on.
Nicely done -- appreciate the creativity you've already laid out. And, I totally agree. These corporations that are "auto-feeding" their marketing lingo to followers aren't getting the whole picture. This is where relationship-building is the way to network. Engagement truly is the key. Good job -- hope Jet Blue and Lowes listens.
.-= Mary Kureku00c2u00b4s last blog ..The Ideal Chamber - August 2009 =-.
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