Forget the Twitpitch; How About Twitgotiations?
by
on May 09, 2008,
Sometimes just watching Twitter on a Friday afternoon, you'll see one more way people are using the service to facilitate their everyday activities. Some people use Twitter for conversation, some for pitches, some for resume solicitation, and others for, well, Twitgotiating.
After Nicholas Tolson of Erickson Barnett sent a Tweet about his experience with Radian6, he got several new followers, most of whom were Radian6 staff. Like most companies, they probably have alerts set for mentions of their company. However, any smart company also has alerts set for mentions, and his 300th follower was Bob Pease (@bobbo0521), who works for Techrigy, one of Radian6's competitors.
What followed was an hilarious exchange, with several Techrigy employees adding Tolson, as well as Aaron Newman, Techrigy CEO, upgrading Tolson's account so he could evaluate the pros and cons of both companies' services. He also freely mentioned other competitors, including BuzzMetrics, Buzzlogic, and Cymfony.
His Twitgotiating may not have netted him more than an upgraded Techrigy account to see what's happening, but as Tolson noted, Twitter is all about making connections. It looks like a simple Twitter exchange all in good fun, but the reality is that he discovered Techrigy, a company he didn't know existed until Pease started following him. Aaron Newman and the rest of his Techrigy staff probably gained several followers, and Techrigy got some more attention as well. He also demonstrated that, rather than be afraid of the competition, he knows it well, knows what companies he considers Techrigy to be on par with, and isn't afraid to mention them to potential customers, which says a lot about how confident he is that customers will prefer Techrigy if they give it a chance.
While for many, Twitter is just a fun social network, companies are using for everything from recruiting to customer relations. We know that companies like Comcast are monitoring the service for complaints, but there are even more who are actively engaging potential customers (like Zappos). It's a savvy move, and one that Twitter could probably promote (as well as provide extra features for companies who would probably pay for the service).
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Fun post, Cyndy. Yes, Twitter is certainly more than just a fun social network and companies are increasingly “listening” to conversations about their brand (or competitors brands) on all forms of social media including blogs, twitter, videos, etc.
Leading agencies like Erickson Barnett (especially with a Tech focus) have clients with an active online customer base and these companies want to ensure that they track all mentions in all media.
We certainly enjoy the banter & fun of Twitter, but we also use it as a serious communication channel. We track Twitter right inside the Radian6 tool which integrates a full Twitter feed in real time in addition to videos, images, blogs, online news, etc.
And… now I can follow @profy
Good points, Marcel.
Twitter is like IM years ago. It has an undeserved reputation for not being useful, or at least not being used in useful ways. It’s a viable communication medium in many respects, and this is demonstrated each day by situations like the above and by other companies and individuals using Twitter in innovative and productive ways.
I have not yet fully tried out Techrigy’s offering, so I am in no way comparing the two services on features, value, or anything else … (and, full disclosure, I am a fully satisfied Radian6 customer), but in response to your statement that Twittering “may not have netted him more than an upgraded Techrigy account” - the upgrade I got seems to be worth somewhere in the four-figures/month of equivalent Radian 6 services. That is, there is real value here. Your statement made it seem a bit paltry is all.
Hi Nicholas,
I really appreciate your statement and support.
I just wanted to clarify that I am not the author of this post. The statement attributed to me in your comment was actually written by the post’s author, Cyndy Aleo-Carreira (@fourlittlebees on twitter). I was just a fellow commenter on the post.
@Nicholas Wow! Leave it to Aaron not to toot his own horn; I didn’t know how far he upgraded your account!
@Marcel It was a riot while it was going on; if I didn’t follow both of them, I’d probably have missed the “Twitgotiations” entirely. I do like what’s being done with Twitter in terms of marketing efforts, and think its made it much more valuable a service than it may have been a year ago.
P.S. You didn’t leave YOUR Twitter handle.