 |
| Old Media meets New Media |
You see it
everywhere. Advertisers invite you to "Follow us on Twitter". It’s
all too easy to add this short message to traditional ad executions.
So Why Not?
The problem is
that Twitter in this way is treated as a mass medium just like the ads
themselves. They might as well say “Follow us on Twitter so we can send
you more messages just like this one.” Sadly, this is exactly how many
marketers use Twitter. You can just hear the conference room
chatter: We’ve got to surround the consumer at all brand contact
points! Or: This is a lead generator!
You’ve read
about companies who inadvertently start public relations disasters on Twitter,
or practice poor customer service. Those things happen. I’m
pointing out here that many companies never run that risk because they only
tweet lawyer-approved ad copy 140 characters at a time.
Twitter and
Traditional Ads CAN Mix
Maybe you or
your clients are more enlightened and use Twitter properly, to engage with or
listen to your customers. In that case, maybe you can use ads to invite
new followers more creatively, and in line with what they can expect.
Here are some examples.
“Tell
@Moleskine what you’re writing”
“How hot is
your @TacoBell #SaucePacket?”
“Suggest ideas
to @SomePublicServant”
“What flavor
should @Lays make? #DoUsAFlavor”
“We update you on train delays @Metra on Twitter"
Don’t Close a
Sale, Start a Relationship
The point is,
you’ve got to give people a reason to follow or at least engage. Just
don’t expect someone to follow you just because they saw your ad.
What other
ideas do you have for companies to engage with their customers on
Twitter? What really bad examples have you seen? Put your responses in the comments section below.