How to use Social CRM Strategy to Improve Product Marketing: Part II

In this series of exploring the appropriate social CRM strategy to improve your product marketing, Facebook has been examined in-depth, providing you with some of the benefits of the platform, as well as challenges if not executed appropriately. As powerful as Facebook can be as a social CRM strategy, it is not your only option. Twitter is a powerful strategy for promoting your latest innovations and encouraging your followers to spread the word when you have just a few words to say.

How About Twitter as a Powerful Social CRM Strategy?

Can you really drive an effective social CRM strategy at 140 characters or less? If you can effectively develop a strong following, you can drive powerful marketing campaigns through the micro-blogging site, Twitter. It can seem like a simple concept, tweet a few times a week and your customers will find and follow you because they like what you have to offer, right? Unfortunately, this approach would be a significant waste of time. Like Facebook, Twitter must be managed effectively if you want to drive success through this social CRM strategy. You need to tweet at least once a day, follow leaders in your industry, follow those who follow you and make sure your communications are meaningful to your audience. If your only focus is to sing your praises, your followers will quickly tire of your tweets and will begin to ignore your posts or stop following you altogether. Do tell everyone what you are doing, but in a way that will matter to them.

The Downside to Twitter as a Social CRM Strategy?

Like Facebook, you have to manage your Twitter account effectively or it won’t deliver any value for your brand. Keep in mind that Twitter was originally designed to provide a voice to those who generally left muffled by the crowd. It’s important that you listen to the voice of your customer and respond appropriately. This open platform invites anyone to follow you and post anything they want about you or your products. It’s your job to make sure those who make the investment in your brand or reputation does so to your benefit. If you fail to monitor interactions or instances where your company name is mentioned, your powerful social CRM strategy could quickly turn into a landslide of bad publicity on a platform that is supposed to help you drive marketing success

TeamTurboTax Finds Twitter Success with this Social CRM Strategy

TeamTurboTax found Twitter to be a powerful social CRM strategy as the company launched a campaign to answer specific questions during tax season. The result: customers were 71 percent more likely to recommend TurboTax due to their interactions with the company on Twitter. Comcast was able to use Twitter to turn dissatisfied customers into raving fans. The company is now focused on dialogue and quality of attention, something Twitter demands of any company hoping to promote marketing success through this platform.

While Facebook and Twitter can both be used to promote your marketing efforts, it is important to keep in mind that the two platforms are still different animals. Design your social CRM strategy according to the platform you select as they will not translate from one to another. As you measure your success through Twitter, consider the possibility of the latest market entrant: Google +. Will this latest attempt by the Internet giant to break into social media success be worth your time? Check out part three of this series to find out.