I hate to admit this but Twitter failed me. That's correct. The almighty social network that I use on a daily basis has let me down. I not talking about it being down either. Check this:
This past Tuesday I started an experiment on Twitter. I needed and still do need an oil change for my car. I sent a message out on Twitter that the first oil change company that responded with a coupon got my business. Simple enough I thought. I was expecting at least 2 companies to reply. I was even hoping that it would be free because they get the publicity and advertising on Twitter. Now I do understand that the oil change industry is not known for their use of Web 2.0 tools and they do prefer the wrench over Facebook. That day I sent out 3 messages about needing an oil change. I did not get one response. Nothing. Nada. I couldn't believe it. The hottest thing going right now couldn't help me get an oil change for my car. It really did shock me.
I tried again on Wednesday. This time I did not require a coupon. I just wanted to get some type of response. Again I got nothing. Nada.
I had people asking me how it went. I had direct messages asking who responded. I even had a Marketing Firm comment on the lack of interest.
Could it be that I'm not being followed by enough people? I don't think so. I have around 850 people who receive my tweets. Could it be that I don't tweet enough? I hope not. I average about 14 tweets a day. Could it be that I tweet to much? This type of customer service shouldn't have anything to do with how often I tweet. In fact none of those questions are really valid for this type of customer service. A simple search on Twitter will let you know of everyone who needs an oil change. In fact here is the search "I need an oil change" at the time of this post.
Why then did I not get a response? Believe it or not but I'm not really sure. Lack of knowledge maybe. Not knowing how to use a tool, probably. Opportunity, you better believe it.
What industry do you think would have responded the quickest or even at all?
Do you think your business, church, or organization would have responded?
I have another experiment that I am going to try on Twitter soon. I will let you know how it goes.
comments
8 Responses to "Tech Thursday: Twitter Failed Me!"So sad! I know that Constant Contact is speedy. I Twittered once that I was frustrated with how slow their website was that day, and was being followed by their tech support within 5 minutes and had a response to call their number if I needed more help. That was impressive.
Sadly, people in my town aren't that into Twitter, so for it to be a valuable tool for our church, we'd need to get a lot of people on board with Twitter first.
I've done some geek work with auto shops, and I can tell you they are so very low tech it's amazing, especially considering how high-tech cars are now. If you said the word "twitter" in the average shop, I think they'd give you that blank stare...
How many of your 800 followers aren't marketers or spambots? I seem to get about 5 new followers a day. When I check back on them a week later, most are already suspended for suspicious activity, but they still show up as followers.
Again, with only a 40% retention rate after 1 month, and an even smaller retention over several months, Twitter may not be sustainable. I think its only hope is if everyday people like the auto mechanic utilizes it for business. It's got to figure some way to keep people like Facebook does (and make money like Facebook does...).
The question becomes-- what is the next Twitter?
You know...Twitter will be dead in 2 years!
I heard that somewhere...
Thanks for all the comments. I like the interaction.
Jill, it is good to hear the Constant Contact was quick. I would expect them to be. Also, sad to hear that people in your town aren't very tech savvy. The same could be said of many towns though.
GP,
You would think that a high tech car would need a high tech mechanic. I know this is not the case. I would say though that with some high tech help they could make a lot more money.
Tapp,
About 200 of my followers are marketers. Of course I put that I like marketing so some of that I call on myself. So, I would guess I have about 150 spammers.
I don't think Twitter is sustainable. I think it will have to be sold and integrated into something else. That something else will have a good shelf life but I don't think will be the next big thing. Once we get a WiFi that covers our nation that is faster than current Ethernet, it will change everything. That is when I think video will change everything. Why just text your followers/friends/family? Why not show them exactly what you are doing? That is what I think is next.
JC,
Whoever said that is really smart. I hope to meet that person someday.
Sorry To hear that Matt, but you know most places like oil change places probably don't do twitter. A place like O'Reily's may though, and you could get free stuff to do it on your own, which is a lot of fun!
I think you probably follow too many people. Seriously, most people follow too many people. Kills your twitter community. It's like trying to be best friends with everyone in the neighborhood.
Twitter CAN get you free things.
I was able to get a free ticket to The Orange Conference (and pre-conference), a car to drive for the week, and a guest room to call home... all by using Twitter.
I think GP is onto something - the auto shop industry isn't concerned w/ the latest social networking trends.
I bet that if you experimented with an industry that HAS an online marketing presence, you'd be more likely to find a helping hand.
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