The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine about wine and how you always have that really nice bottle that never gets opened. (Or most people do. Wine has a short life span in our house.) She said she’s had one in her rack for years. The conversation went something like this:
Friend: I wonder how long it’ll last.
Me: Why don’t you ask the vineyard?
Friend: What?!
Me: Like, get on Twitter and ask the vineyard when that vintage will turn.
Friend: Is that how it works? (Mind=blown.)
This confirmed two things for me.
1) My friends are never actually listening when I talk about work. And 2) The idea of being able to directly ask a company questions about their product/service/organization is mind blowing. It really is such a basic, simple desire to understand what you are purchasing.
Twitter and Facebook are not just platforms for announcing promotions. (Or at least, they shouldn’t be.) They are also an opportunity to educate your audience. Answer their questions. Heck, ask for their opinion!
What has your experience been with reaching out to companies with questions? Or better yet, what sort of questions have you answered online on behalf of a company?
There’s OTBN – Open That Bottle Night – for those who need an excuse to uncork a saved vintage; like you, wine don’t last that long around my house. 🙂 FWIW:
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1) THAT is why I don’t pimp my blog or business or tweet w/ many of my friends; it’s really not relevant to them, so talking about Twitter or what LI is doing blah blah.. they’d be in a boredom coma in minutes.
2) THIS is what it should be. One brand example I can share – had an issue leaving Charter, finally got upset enough to vent on Twitter, call out a brand by name (something I rarely do). Low and behold, they listened; end of the story, their @ Charter_Name rep solved my problem. If ever I want/need to change providers again, you better believe I’ll give them a chance. Not to mention, I’ve told this story more than a few times now.
 @3HatsComm See? That’s how companies get second chances. I love it!