6:46 am, January 6, 2009
TWITTER, the micro-blogging service, is being used by car makers such as Ford to help counter product criticism.
Word of Mouth, an organisation that monitors social media, reports that the US giant recently used Twitter to deflect message board criticism from enthusiasts.
The blue oval filed a lawsuit against enthusiasts selling replica Ford decals. Word of Mouth reports that Ford fans inundated the site with angry anti-Ford messages.
However, Ford’s head of social media, Scott Monty, used the text message blogging service to respond.
By explaining the company’s message in a series of short text messages, he was able to diffuse the situation.
‘Part of my job is to humanise the company – you want to interact,’ Monty said.
‘There’s a rapid-fire element to Twitter that causes conversations to go viral when something bad happens with a company, said Jackie Huba, co-founder of the Society for Word of Mouth.
‘Companies that have a Twitter account are prepared. If something goes wrong they can respond.’
it could therefore be time for you to investigate how your car dealership could benefit from such innovative marketing methods. By enhancing customer communications in this way, you could set yourself apart from less tech-savvy rivals.
It could drive sales, too. Bob Pearson, head of communities and conversation for Dell, said his company had generated $1m in computer-related sales through alerts posted to Twitter…
By Richard Aucock
