Twitter Talk

Get into the Game

Julia Rosien, Communications Director, Natura World

Ever stood around the coffee maker chatting about your kids, the weekend – you may even do some informal brainstorming about how to handle a challenging customer or a late shipment. People who frequent sites like Facebook and Twitter are doing the same thing – only digitally.

What’s changing isn’t the content of the conversations but the number of people involved. Someone on Facebook may have a hundred acquaintances who tune into their conversations. If you’re on Twitter, your community may have thousands of people from virtually anywhere – think of the demographic mix! More than 6,000 people actively follow Natura on Twitter.

Twitter and Facebook are a great back channel for your customers to get to know you better. And being part of online conversations can actually help raise your site’s voice of authority and the number of local customers who find you online.

Where do I Start?
Set up a Twitter or Facebook account. Start talking to people who look interesting to you, but be personable and limit your marketing message to a minimum. Your homepage links back to your site, and as people get to know you, they will click through to your site and ask questions about your store.

Don’t have time to chat online? Get a junior staff member – a digital native – to be your Twitter operator. Set up some guidelines on what is and isn’t acceptable conversation topics and help him/her find people to follow in your geographical area and industry. Hint: www.search.twitter.com is a great way to find like-minded people to follow.

Pretty soon a miraculous thing will happen. Google will start to see more people coming to your site and your site will be given more credibility and weight. Yes, Google knows where you live – and where your customers live too! Of course, your online marketing campaign must be more than just Twitter or Facebook, but it’s a cost-effective, easy way to get into the game.

An added bonus, when/if someone posts an online complaint, you’re already there, waiting to help make it better. Critics can be crippling in the online arena, but with Twitter, Facebook and a solid approach to customer service, it’s easy to turn them into a raving fan.

From the book Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, “Customers have needs beyond the need of a company’s product…People need to feel they belong to the group. People need to feel they’re important and that what they do, think and say truly matters.”

Want to get into the conversation? Join me on Twitter and start tweeting!

Julia Rosien is the Communications Director for Natura World Inc and specializes in social media and online community development for sustainable brand awareness. Previously she served as Senior Editor for ePregancy and contributed to national publications including The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, American Bar Association Journal Health, Women’s Health and Wedding Style.

Do you want to share your ideas or opinions on industry issues? If so email Kids Today Editor Lisa Casinger at lcasinger@reedbusiness.com.