Then Jack Dorsey wrote his first tweet: “setting up my twttr” and Dom Sagolla (@Dom) answered “oh, this is going to be addictive”.
Much water has flowed under the bridges since then. Twttr turned into Twitter, and on June 12th, 2009 the number of tweets exceeded 2 147 483 647 – the limits of signed integers – causing multiple twitter apps to crush, but Twitter and tweets continue to grow.
Some of them are written by brands and sometimes it is not without some profit and good.
For instance, in December, 2008 Dell Outlet (
@delloutlet ) informed that it had generated 1 million USD online by posting e-commerce links to its Twitter feed and created the whole hub for its
twitter accounts while the Dell’s twitter-story became a some kind of a manual for many.
On the other hand, many surveys about brands, companies and their communications on Twitter are quite contradictory. Some of them (like, WebTrends data*) say brand marketers are “reluctant” about using Twitter, despite the big exploding audience**(pic.). Other (like,
@MarketingProfs data) inform 83% of companies and brands expect their use of Twitter to increase over the upcoming six months and 45% see Twitter as “somewhat important” to their business.
May be, it’s because that Twitter isn't for everyone and in practice brands on Twitter behave as “ordinary” users:
Some try and leave. Some don’t try at all, following the rule “the less you do, the less mistakes you have”. Some gather small and big
audiencies and lead discussions or conversations. Sometimes they are serious, sometimes not. Sometimes these are monologues, sometimes – very inspiring dialogues.
Observing, one can know a lot, but always better to ask. And so
@BrandNews asks brands:
1. Why you tweet?
2. What are distinctive features of your style for tweets?
We are going to add answers depending on what brands will appear on Twitter, how often they tweet and behave as dialogue masters and others. If you follow brands on Twitter, really read their tweets and think they are interesting, please
let us know.
@umbro :
The person behind @umbro is Tom Burrow, a Digital Manager at UMBRO.
Why UMBRO tweets?
Football is one of the greatest shared cultures in the World. People love talking about football and so do we.
What is the UMBRO’s style of tweets?
Twitter is quite an individual driven platform so our tweets and style is always human, genuine and reflect the views of the individuals writing. We talk about anything related to football, players, kits or even the best place to get a burger before the game!
@SunChips :
The person behind @SunChips is Nicolle Poole, the SunChips Assistant Brand Manager.
Why SunChips tweets?
We tweet to share and gain knowledge. Our tweets tend to focus on this relevant to our brand and story.
What is the SunChips' style of tweets? (are there any distinguishing features?)
Sorry, that should be things, not this :)
@Toyota :
Behind @Toyota there are 4 persons. These are Scott DeYager (
@ScottDeYager , ^SD), the lead of social media efforts for Toyota in North America; Sona Moon, (
@ sonamoon, ^SM), Toyota PR; Dan Sieger (
@sieger262, ^DS) and Amy K. Taylor (
@amykt , ^AT). And more contributers will be added soon.
Why Toyota tweets?
We've started combined (all 3 brands) to build a model and plan for support/sustainment...Plan to eventually break off the brands. ^SD
What is the Toyota’s style for tweets?
Our style is conversational and customer focused. We want to provide timely info and answers to customer questions/needs. ^SD
@mentosgum:
Behind @mentosgum there is an agency (Cossette) with Fabrice Calando (
@fabrice_calando ); Alison Neill (
@AliNeill ) and Sophie Labelle (
@sophielabelle).
Why is Mentos Gum on Twitter?
We want to be able to speak to our consumers one-on-one in an easy way. We also want to spread happiness through Tweets that we think people will enjoy, as that is the essence of the campaign (
MakeYourWorldGoRounder).
What is Mentos Gum’s tweet style?
We try to share content that is related to our campaign: fun, happy and upbeat Tweets. (The MakeYourWorldGoRounder.ca campaign challenges Canadians to think about life’s simple pleasures and submit ideas on what would make them happy).
We communicate our campaign’s videos, images, and successes, as well as communicate with the people who are submitting their ideas to our website. We also do customer service and listen to what our consumers are saying about the brand. It’s a fun brand, product and campaign, so we just try to have fun with our followers!
Why are there not more followers?
We structured the campaign around our MakeYourWorldGoRounder.ca website, as it is technologically innovative and original. We chose not to market or “push” our social media platforms, as we felt these were created to support the campaign and simply offer a place to converse with our consumers.
@ford:
The person behind @ford is ScottMonty (
@ScottMonty, ^SM), Head of social media at Ford Motor Company.
Why Ford tweets?
Simple, concise and 1:1 communication that demonstrates our company's commitment to engaging with consumers & building brand awareness. ^SM
What're distinctive features of the Ford style for tweets?
Most corporate accounts are co-managed by multiple people and have their names listed in the bios or on the Twitter background. ^SM
What's the best @Ford or @ScottMonty tweet ever?
Best @Ford tweet .
Best @ScottMonty tweet . ^SM
@Alicia_at_Honda :
It is a twitter-name for Alicia Jones, Corporate Communications, American Honda Motor.
Why Honda tweets?
I Twitter on behalf of American Honda Motor Co. to reach our customers, enthusiasts, media and other influencers in the United States. I've found that there are a variety of benefits:
- Provides a direct line to communicate to consumers/customers/enthusiasts;
- Gives a personal touch and entry point to what may otherwise seem like a "big," "corporate" brand;
- Affords an opportunity to share bits of info that might interest followers but not otherwise be news release worthy;
- Provides a great avenue to listen to what is being said about the brand to identify potential issues, concerns, feedback, etc.;
- Leads to stories about Honda in blogs as well as "traditional" media;
- Aids in customer retention by identifying/elevating concerns as well as thanking customers;
- Bonus: a couple customers have said they've actually purchased a Honda because of engagement on Twitter.
What are distinguishing features of the Honda style for tweets?
American Honda currently has a handful of Twitter accounts including
@Honda ,
@Alicia_at_Honda ,
@Acura_Insider,
@ASIMO.
Our colleagues at Honda Canada and Honda UK are also Twittering (@HondaCanada, @AcuraCanada, @Honda_Racing, @Honda_UK).
The primary account for American Honda corporately is @Alicia_at_Honda where I engage in the conversation about all aspects of Honda's lines of business... from automotive to motorcycle to power equipment, etc.
The @Honda is currently functioning as an RSS newsfeed from hondanews.com. As we have many fans and robotics enthusiasts so we've also recently started the @ASIMO twitter. Finally, my colleagues at Acura send tweets specifically about that brand exclusively via @Acura_Insider.
What was the best @Alicia_at_Honda tweet ever?
That's hard to say but I think that the best tweets come 'live'...like from the road of the recent @H2RoadTour, or watching Honda MotoGP riders, or TwitPics of cool vehicles on display at our headquarters, etc. I think those are probably the most engaging for a "follower" of the brand because you get a little bit of an insider's view and perspective.
To continue...
@iaaw :
Behind @iaaw (
In An Absolut World) with information from the world of Absolut is Gringo, an agency from Brasil.
Why IAAW tweets?
There are two reasons:
1. To connect with our consumers and potential prospects and to fill them with news and relevant stuff from our "In An Absolut Wolrd" Blog;
2. For our surprise, an important and active piece of our target is on Twitter.
What is a style for IAAW tweets?
Our style is informal, interesting and we always try to put some of Absolut vision on it.
What was the best @iaaw tweet ever?
The best @iaaw tweet ever was the announcement of a huge and beautiful party that Absolut realized in Brazil to introduce his new campaing: In An Absolut World.
Look .
To continue...
@BeefeaterLondon
Behind @BeefeaterLondon there is an agency (
Maynard Malone): James Skinner and Allan Wills.
Why @BeefeaterLondon tweets?
Everyone loves a cocktail, whether at the local bar after work or at home unwinding from a tough day at the office. We tweet to encourage cocktail mixology and educate individuals on how Beefeater Dry Gin can be used in a variety of ways to enhance cocktails.
What is the @BeefeaterLondon style of tweets?
We keep a relaxed tone of voice online and love to tweet about London in particular, the home of Beefeater Gin. We like to share cocktail recipes, photos and mixology videos with our followers. We also like to involve our fan base by asking them questions regarding their favourite cocktails and bars around the world!
What was the best @BeefeaterLondon tweet ever?
The best @BeefeaterLondon tweets involve letting our audience choose between two different cocktails on any given day. Our Mixology videos have generated a lot of online conversation but ultimately everyone wants to have their own input so the “Beefeaterlondon would like to know what you will be drinking this Friday night?” usually goes down well... No pun intended!
To continue...
@ElGradoTequila
Behind @ElGradoTequila there are
El Grado Spirits founders: Ben Gonzales, Page Brockman, Ashly Kubichek Victoria and Ron Parks.
Why @ElGradoTequila tweets?
We tweet to raise brand awareness, notify followers of upcoming events & handle customer service issues. It's fast, cheap & works.
To continue...
July, 2009 © BrandNews.
*Marketers 'reluctant' about using Twitter, survey finds
***Twitter Traffic Explodes
***Twitter Success Stories
