I was on PBS Marketplace this morning talking about Twitter with technology & entrepreneur reporter Mitchell Hartman. We were discussing the future of Twitter and how it is moving into directions that is not obvious to many just yet. Here are a few quotes from the clip:

“Rodney Rumford is author of the book “Twitter as a Business Tool”: Programmers could find a way to tie into the machine-language level and interface that with real-world, let’s call them “life-hack” type of devices. This means machines communicating with other machines, plants or animals communicating with us. It also means we can interact with the computers that crunch all the data being collected every minute on Twitter.”

“Rumford says Twitter is allowing us to create new social intelligence about ourselves at breakneck speed. They’ve really developed the tube, if you will, for this data to flow through. And an easy tube to plug into. Rumford’s favorite new toy: a GPS mapping program that tracks fellow-tweeters in real-time so you can go meet them for drinks or a movie. If you can put your cell phone down that long.”

Have a listen to the audio clip from the radio program.

You can grab the full show notes and resources mentioned over at Marketplace:

As an interesting side note. The PBS reporter Mitchell Hartman @entrepreneurguy live tweeted his highlights from the show as it aired live on the radio. (we were both up at 3:49am Pacific Time for this)

Screw the phone…  I tweet for customer service. I came across this video from Fox Chicago on how Twitter users are going to Twitter FIRST for customer service and support and completely bypassing calling traditional help channels such as phone support. The point that brands and businesses need to take away is the fact that people are going to twitter for customer service and expecting interactions ans resolution from the brands via Twitter.

Twitter for customer service and support is but one of many use cases of Twitter as a business tool. It just happens to be a piece of low hanging fruit in the twittersphere. I know that I tweeted @starbucks because I could not find out how many weight watchers points were in a mocha frappicino while I was trying to lose weight . They responded and tweeted me where I could find the information, nice! So is your company there?

What is the best interaction that you have seen via twitter for customer service or support? Please leave a comment.
This video is calling Twitter the cyber complaint window. Indeed.

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Please feel free to share this and Retweet. Thanks for your attention.
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Fully understanding Twitter and it’s potential impact from a business, marketing, sales, branding and PR perspective has tremendous value. Knowing how to best engage via this channel is crucial to businesses; both big and small. Twitter is a content distribution, consumption and engagement channel that can be used in a multitude of ways for a variety of business purposes. Failing to understand this fully could be a real downside from many perspectives.

The first thing that people need to understand is that Twitter raises the bar for engagement from a consumer expectation level. People expect companies, businesses and brands to be represented on Twitter and interacting. They want to be able to communicate with your company and with people within your organizations in a multitude of capacities.

Think about the Fax machine for just a moment. When only 1 or 2 people had one it was not very valuable. Soon everybody had a fax machine and everyone could communicate via fax because they got connected. Well, Twitter and the millions (6+ at last count) of people are communicating on Twitter are a network of thought leaders, influentials, bloggers, and every day consumers and they are connecting and communicating at a impressive velocity. Twitter is a true game changer in the history of communication channels.

It is unlike anything that we have seen before in the history of communications (both web and mobile). It’s reach extends far beyond the Twitter website in a variety of ways and iterations. Oh, did I mention that it has a messaging amplification factor that is truly mind boggling in the way in which content spreads virally and at tremendous velocity thru it’s network and platform.

Its simplicity is its genius; Twitter can be used in a multitude of capacities such as reputation management, customer service, support, product launches, brand building, brand extension, PR, sales, etc… Knowing how to set specific business goals and follow proven best practices for your specific and clearly defined use case is critical.

I have been using Twitter for over 2 years in a professional capacity and have seen many damaging missteps that are commonly made by the newbie. That was part of my motivation for writing this book. I am sharing proven best practices, use cases, 30 business and personal branding examples, case studies, network building processes, effective tools and processes/methodologies to interact effectively so that your business goals align with how you use Twitter.

Please sign up for our newsletter (no spam) and we will immediately email you a PDF of Chapter 5 from the book. (A Communications Game Changer)

As an FYI if you click the retweet button below and retweet this post, your picture will show up as well as a link to your twitter account.

It is important for businesses, organizations, departments,  and companies to understand that there are many valid business reasons (that can deliver a positive ROI) why they should be participating on Twitter. The ways in which companies choose to use Twitter are quite varied. The use cases and ways in which they use it are typically determined by how they want to interact and the business value that they wish to extract.

Twitter is a Business Tool; how you choose to use that tool will be determined by what you want to use it for: ie. news distribution, customer service, sales, branding, extending product awareness, product launches, promotion, relationship building, etc.

In these tight economic times, Twitter offers your business a way in which to proactively listen, engage and extend your marketing, branding, support and business objectives for no hard costs. So put on your thinking cap and allow your mind to absorb this information and think about how these reasons can be applied to your communication channels & marketing mix.

Just remember that in today’s world… “Conversation is the new currency that fosters business & relationships. Twitter is the Stock Exchange of conversations where interactions get traded.”

17 Reasons Your Business Should Be on Twitter:

People are talking about your product, brand, company or service (you better be listening)

Lack of participation by your business could have negative consequences (ask Exxon or Motrin)

People want to interact with your business (seize this opportunity and the positive options that surround it)

Twitter drives website traffic & awareness

Twitter has the ability to allow your content to spread virally

You can make new connections

Twitter can be used as a channel to access people you that you might not otherwise have access to (networking)

Twitter allows for product feedback

Twitter allows you to touch and interact with customers in a personal way that they value

Brand evangelists on Twitter can be rewarded and encouraged in a variety of ways

Twitter allows you to gather insights and news from the people you follow

You can extend your brand in a new and meaningful way

Your competitors are already there (or will be soon)

You can create a network of influence to help your business in a variety of ways (sales, marketing, support, marcom)

Search Engine Visibility

Twitter allows you to have 1 to 1 conversations in a public way that can extend the reach of your business

Twitter allows you to turn brand detractors into evangelists

This list could have easily been over 50 reasons that your business should be on Twitter. The point to take away here is that Twitter is a new communication channel and it is not going away;  lack of participation will be looked upon negatively by your prospects and clients. The business opportunities abound; it is how you use Twitter that matters. You can learn more here.

We will be releasing the book: Twitter As A Business Tool on Monday January 12, 2009. This Multi-medi kit is comprised of a electronic book, companion workbook, power point deck of 50 slides and 7 training videos to bring you up to speed quickly on Twitter. Covers best practices, use cases, case studies, statistics, trends, marketing and branding and much more. The comprehensive guide offers insights to how to use Twitter to build your business 140 characters at a time.

Download your copy now.