Companies are proving that Twitter gives their brand a voice that stands out and encourages a dialogue between the companies and the community. Twitter is a place to be yourself and speak your mind, and successfully branded Twitter pages have done just that.
Consumers are able to have a dialogue with a company through social media, instead of only viewing traditional advertising. Many companies approach social media differently, and what works for one company, may not work for another. Some businesses create an individual persona for their social media accounts (like using the voice of the CEO or specific employer), others create a forum led by customer comments and conversations, but all successful social media campaigns create a unique voice for their brand that serves to enhance and support their overall mission.
- Starbucks perfectly exemplifies the community-based dialogue that can be accomplished on social media. On Twitter, Starbucks responds to both compliments and complaints, even if it is simply someone tweeting about their morning cup of coffee. Starbucks has established a brand voice that is engaging by tweeting daily to specific Starbucks customers.
- Southwest uses social media to generate conversations with customers. In the words of Southwest, “We don’t hide behind the brand, we want people to speak out in their real voice.” Southwest maintains an authentic voice by not overly editing their bloggers. Like Starbucks, they respond to customer’s questions and concerns on Twitter–showing that they care about their reputation and the experience of their customers publicly.
- Coca-Cola is another dialogue-driven social media campaign. Most of their tweets are written to specific Twitter users who have engaged with the brand. Like Southwest and Starbucks, Coca-Cola creates a personalized brand by creating conversations with customers.
- The Humane Society is a non-profit that uses Twitter to spread awareness and connect with animal lovers as well as potential donors. Many of their tweets are retweets about pets or pet adoption. The Humane Society also started the popular hashtag “FelineFriday” and retweets many tweets that use this hashtag. For other non-profits that successfully use Twitter, click here.