Everyone is Getting Social

A new survey released from Cone, Inc. suggests that 93% of consumers expect companies to be involved in social media. From the blog post here:

* Companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%)
* Companies should solicit feedback on their products and services (41%)
* Companies should develop new ways for consumers to interact with their brand (37%)
* Companies should market to consumers (25%)

What to make of this?

Consumers like feeling involved with brands they buy (not all brands, but as a generalization). They like having the inside scoop and feeling like the company cares about their input. Customers feel like they can influence a brand when they are connected through social networks. When you put out a tweet on Twitter about how frustrated you are with Comcast and ComcastCares writes you back within a few minutes and lets you know that a service rep is en route to your home, it is comforting.

Social media isn't for every company, but those who can should take full advantage of it.

How Newspapers Utilize Twitter...

Twitter can be a great site for Newspapers. They can also be incredibly boring and bland. What separates the two? A real person.

The best news source I have seen on Twitter: SunTimes

I won't name the worst one, especially since we pitch to it, but it spews out about 5 tweets at a time with links to their news stories. Some of the links don't work. They don't follow anyone. It is merely a way for them to send out links to their stories.

Now why is SunTimes so great?

They are a real person. They follow people back. They engage in conversation. They ask for opinions. They are connected.

Individual reporters on Twitter realize this, so why don't the newspapers get it?

An Epic Fail Whale

While watching the presidential debate on Friday, I was also following along with the conversation on Twitter. As expected, most people on Twitter were following the debate and giving their play-by-play commentary. With so many people on Twitter, I hoped Twitter would have beefed up their servers for the heavy amount of traffic they were going to receive during the debate. I knew better though. I predicted a 'fail whale' and it did indeed happen:




The 'fail whale' came out during the debate. While it wasn't long lasted, it was still an epic fail. Imagine if you were watching the Super Bowl and your TV reception kept going in and out, you wouldn't stay with that cable company much longer would you? Twitter needs a business model, a revenue stream, and more reliable servers.



The VP debate is this Thursday. Let's hope Twitter can handle it. I wouldn't bet on it though.