Mitch Joel‘s recent post, “The Dirty Little Secret Of The Twitter Elite,” and the accompanying comments got me thinking about how shabbily most followers are treated by social media celebrities. And how corporate brands will have to perform to a much higher standard or eventually fail.
In brief, Joel’s post observed that social media gurus and Hollywood celebs with huge followings pay very little attention to the majority of their followers. Even the ones they follow back. Virtually no real conversation is occurring between the elite and the masses. We are being filtered out by Tweetdeck and the like. And for an obvious reason–who has time to interact with hundreds of thousands? A commenter to the post asked, “Would you go to a cocktail party and actually try to talk to 1000+ in one evening?”
I follow Lance Armstrong because I enjoy the Tour de France. Following him adds some dimension to the race. (I also follow Leipheimer, Vande Velde, McEuwen and others.) I don’t send Armstrong messages because I wouldn’t expect him to respond. How could he? Why would he? I’m sure he receives thousands of inquiries a day from fans and simply doesn’t have time to exchange cycling stories with all of them. And I’m fine with that.
But I would feel differently if I contacted a corporate brand and didn’t hear back. I’ll forgive Lance Armstrong but I won’t forgive Ford, Pepsi or Sony.
If I send a message to Starbucks, Microsoft or Southwest Airlines, I expect an answer. If they don’t pay attention to my concerns, I might switch brands. Why? Because I expect them to care about my patronage.
This requires staffing. Social media is 24/7 and must be engaged continuously. Corporations can do that; individuals can’t. Unless they have people, which would no longer be real.
Ironic, isn’t it? Those gigantic, faceless, monolithic corporations we love to hate can, must, and will be better than individuals at actually engaging larger communities.
Do you forgive the Twitterati who ignore you? Would you forgive a corporate brand?
How do the brands you know staff for round-the-clock community management?
Very interesting post. I’ve asked myself some of the same questions recently with our DIF Twitter account. I/We honestly make an effort to pay attention to our followers, RT’s, and Direct Messages but with 1400 followers it’s very difficult, and we’re young with twitter. 1400 followers are pennies to some huge national brands.
Great Post, I’ll make sure to RT
Thanks, Mike, for validating with a real-world example.
Kirk:
Interesting observation and post. Expectations on Twitter responsiveness and presence are certainly evolving. I think smart organizations need to quickly determine their customers’ expectations and staff up their social media support efforts accordingly. Some companies use Twitter like a corporate magazine – repurposing sales and PR fodder – which doesn’t require much individual interaction. Some use it for customer service and support which certainly requires speedy, customized responses.
Companies who figure out the proper balance of social media engagement and responsiveness (like Zappos) are literally stealing business away from competitors who sit on the sidelines fretting “what if this works…”
Gary