Earlier this week, The Atlantic reported that Twitter CEO Dick Costolo's vision for the platform to become a global town square had all but failed. While platform engagement is rapidly declining, more users it seems are flocking to Twitter not for conversation, but for information.
The 100 million new users Twitter added in the past two years are more likely to listen than to tweet. In fact, The Atlantic reports 40 percent of Twitter users worldwide primarily use the platform as a curated news feed. But is that a bad thing?
In change there is always opportunity. In this case, brands are largely failing to listen to their customers when they do tweet their questions or concerns. According to SocialTimes, "The number of customers turning to social media for support continues to increase—up 21 percent in the last two quarters." It's surprising then that the overall response rate to these customer concerns has decreased by 2.5 percent.
In fact, Social Times reported that seven out of eight customer inquiries go unanswered for as much as 72 hours. Social media, especially Twitter is the modern 1-800 hotline for customer help and complaints. It's essential that every organization have systems in place that not only supports 24-hour monitoring, but also empowers employees with the needed authority to provide rapid, realtime response unencumbered by often time consuming review and approval channels.
The consequence of not prioritizing listening ranges from lost customers to a potentially embarrassing media crisis. Tune in or be turned out.
The 100 million new users Twitter added in the past two years are more likely to listen than to tweet. In fact, The Atlantic reports 40 percent of Twitter users worldwide primarily use the platform as a curated news feed. But is that a bad thing?
In change there is always opportunity. In this case, brands are largely failing to listen to their customers when they do tweet their questions or concerns. According to SocialTimes, "The number of customers turning to social media for support continues to increase—up 21 percent in the last two quarters." It's surprising then that the overall response rate to these customer concerns has decreased by 2.5 percent.
In fact, Social Times reported that seven out of eight customer inquiries go unanswered for as much as 72 hours. Social media, especially Twitter is the modern 1-800 hotline for customer help and complaints. It's essential that every organization have systems in place that not only supports 24-hour monitoring, but also empowers employees with the needed authority to provide rapid, realtime response unencumbered by often time consuming review and approval channels.
The consequence of not prioritizing listening ranges from lost customers to a potentially embarrassing media crisis. Tune in or be turned out.