Does an online presence work?

Here’s one example of a success story- and there are many others. Do you have fond feelings for your cable company? Most people don’t- and Comcast wanted to change that. They developed a twitter presence, choosing ComcastCares for the twitter name instead of just Comcast. This was actually a very smart move, because each time the individual trying to reach Comcast on twitter typed that name, he or she reinforced that idea.

Frank Eliason uses a search to track comments about the company: “Eliason discovered that by doing a search for the word “Comcast” (and occasionally “Comcrap”), he could find tweeters who just happened to mention service complaints he could address. In December 2008, he celebrated the handling of his 22,000th tweet.”

Instead of waiting for contact from the person who is unhappy with service, Eliason monitors a search and proactively deals with problems. This is very important in creating a strong customer service social media program.

Companies like Comcast are dealing with an individual’s issues very publicly in the twitter offer to help, as all conversation is seen in the public stream. Additionally, press releases announcing the addition of a social media component to customer service will reach a large audience in a more effective way than advertising. And Comcast itself has been the subject of a multitude of news articles, again more effective than advertising.

What does this mean? A company can add a whole new layer of publicity- but this can be a double-edged sword. You need a plan in place to be able to address any complaint that is brought up. Comcast’s offer of “Can I help?” would not be effective if systems for dealing with problems were not in place.

From http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/10/30/why-does-comcast-care-about-twitter-video/ by Jeremiah Owyang ]]> http://twitterdiaries.com/2009/08/12/hello-world/feed/ 0