Twitter. How the Big Boys Roll

…and I bet you are doing it better than some.

I ran across this article that shows the results of an experiment digital agency IQ ran to see just how Fortune 500 companies were doing at social media. With the exception of a few, most of them sucked. Check this quote:

The results? HP, UPS, Wells Fargo and GM stood out as top-performing brands, according to five best practices that IQ gleaned from the study: clearly labeling the purpose of a Twitter account; clearly identifying who is replying to a question; keeping the tone light and friendly; making sure you respond; and responding quickly.

Of the 50 companies, IQ did not send tweets to 16 because the agency couldn’t find a Twitter account, couldn’t find an account that seemed credible, or the Twitter accounts it did find were too specific in their topics.

Of the remaining 34 companies, 23 responded to McFather’s tweets. Among the 11 that didn’t: Boeing, Exxon Mobile, Home Depot, Walgreens and Wal-Mart. The fastest to reply were GM, UPS and Best Buy — getting back in 2,3 and 4 minutes, respectively. (Best Buy has previously gained recognition for its Twelpforce customer service page on Twitter.) These companies also quickly redirected messages sent to the incorrect accounts for customer service.

For companies that spend more on marketing than you or I could ever fathom, that says something. What that something is I’m not quite sure.

Are they afraid to take risks?
Do they just not get it?
Are they still trying to turn the battleship of their giant company?
Like so many, are they deluded into thinking that things will go back to the way they were 10 years ago?

I follow the Twitter feeds of many of you and I see how in touch you are. I also see far too many client come to me with no plan or in some cases even a glimmer of understanding of the what, why and how of Twitter.

Everyday, social media like Twitter becomes standard operating practice as a way for people to find the information that they need. The simple fact that Twitter is searchable is reson enough that you can not ignore it.

You can read the full article here at Media Post Publications or download the white paper with the full results from IQ’s website. It’s a short paper; be sure to check out page 2 for some great examples.

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