Companies and Twitter

So what companies are on Twitter and which ones are proactive? Which ones just give out and which ones interact?

Twitter has its limitations for consumers when it comes to complaining. At some point, unless it is very simple, they will have to take it into direct messages (DMs) or email to explain the situation and/or give personal details. But in all this time many thousands of people can see how well (or not) a company is dealing with complaints. Frequently you will find that when done in good humour and swiftly people accept the situation and engage positively with it. Let’s take Kentucky Fried Chicken as an example...

Many companies have a presence on social media and some are much better than others at interacting with their customers on these platforms. When companies engage with customers, whether for compliments or complaints, it is helping the company’s image and reputation far more than those who don’t have a presence or who ignore complaints.

The KFC chicken shortage in 2018, caused by delivery problems, gave rise to a widespread advertising campaign where the company apologised for the fiasco. Two adverts apologising with humour won them an award

These press adverts resulted in one billion impressions on Twitter. Millions and millions of more people saw and took notice of KFC sending itself up. What could have been a reputational disaster actually resulted in a successful PR outcome.

That would not have been the case if the company had not been willing to take a risk and it certainly would not have been the case had KFC not been on Twitter.

A few years ago, I helped someone on Twitter. The company was trying to fob her off getting a refund. I got her a refund. The company’s Twitter team blocked me. That move backfired badly because I then spent the next hour looking for people who were complaining to the company and helped them with their consumer rights! Never underestimate what people will do on social media, for whatever reason!

KFC has always been criticised for its poor chips but last year chips went chunky with skins on and were, in my opinion,. much improved. Story around this:

In its social media campaign to raise awareness of the new chips it went even further than acknowledging that it was down to customers’ feedback. It went back four years and used old tweets. That’s really listening and responding to customers. (Not that it should have taken four years, but you get the idea!)

Companies ignore the value and impact of social media at their peril. Social media is where the majority of your customers are. You need to engage with them where they hang out. The better companies not only keep customers informed and engage with them, they actively reach out and ask opinions. Not only are you showing that you value customers but you would get some useful feedback too. AND it’s cheaper than traditional media.

What do you think about businesses on Twitter?