Twitter recently introduced search. Have you tried it? You should. The stream of tweets is enticing, exhilarating, and exasperating. A focused list of search terms should become a staple of managing your customer relationships.
Tweet streams on "my brand sucks" or "my competitor" provide a near realtime view into current thoughts of users, fans, and malcontents in ways that are difficult or impossible to replicate elsewhere. The voyeuristic element is hard to deny. The insights gained are hard to ignore.
Going back to my gross generalization of Twitter is quicker, Facebook is deeper... Mining the tweets from a search will not generate deep insight. You'll get a temperature check on the flow of opinion. Like a thermometer identifying a feverish condition without diagnosing or treating the underlying illness, inklings arising from a Twitter search call for additional consideration and action.
Twitter being what it is, however, enables response to folks in very intimate "we are paying attention to you" ways. See a comment about a bad customer experience or billing issue? Tweet right back to say, "let's make it right!" Notice chatter based on inaccurate information? Get the word out on what's actually happening. Treat that tweet-fever with online instant aspirin - quick actions will bring down the temperature and reduce the pain to your business.
With transparency and honesty so influential on the customer experience and relationships with users, Twitter's value will only increase as it mainstreams across your customer base. I'll continue to come back to it as a theme, and I hope you'll share your thoughts, experiments, and successes, too. Onward!
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