According to a recent NYTimes Article, "retailers and their customers used the social networking site to talk to one another about bargains, problems, purchases and shopping strategies." Tech savvy black Friday shoppers used Twitter as their guide to discounts around the retail sphere and most who did say that they benefited more than just shopping with your average black Friday sale circular. Some Twitter-exclusive deals included a coupon for 15% off a purchase of $75 or more at the Gap Outlet and the special "One Day Sale" from Disney, which previewed exclusively on their Facebook page.
However, Best Buy is one of the most remarkable retail Twitter users this holiday season;
"A few months ago, Best Buy began piloting a Twelpforce — a Twitter-inspired play on “help force” — of some 2,500 employees that answer consumers’ questions in real time. After buying a new navigation system at 6 a.m. on black Friday, Laura S. Kern of Los Angeles could not figure out why it was not giving her traffic updates. She sent a message to Best Buy’s Twelpforce account and within five minutes not one, but two Best Buy employees responded with fix-it advice ("Buying, Selling and Twittering all the Way." New York Times. Nov. 27, 2009)."
In chapter one of Communication and Cyberspace, Gumpert & Drucker posit the excitement of progress and technological developments in that "being able to connect with the outside world from our intellectual dungeon is amazing and helpful, but it is much more difficult to forecast the impact of such developments." Twitter, the most used word of 2009, allows people to connect with the outside world in unimaginable ways; Tweets can theoretically be seen by millions of people and with the nature of a tweet being 140 characters or less, this spurt of information is tangible and useful for more people compared to a traditional blog or facebook post, which can be wordy and not get to the point in the same concise fashion as Twitter. This is why for businesses, Twitter is a goldmine.
Did retailers ever think that Twitter would become so large that they would be increasing their use of social media this holiday season by 47% ("Buying, Selling and Twittering all the Way." New York Times. Nov. 27, 2009)? Probably not. The power of Twitter for businesses is growing exponentially and the developments with how to better utilize Twitter, a la Best Buy's Twelpforce, is a perfect example of how a company is already making advancements in a nascent form of communication to sataisfy customers in an instant gratification, palm-of-your-hand type of way.
Twitter is a prodigious playground with growing possibilities. As seen with this years black Friday, retailers have the ability to directly address the consumer and make them feel heard and noticed. What advancements will Twitter and other forms of social media and web 2.0 make in 2010? Perhaps you will be able to download a holographic Best Buy employee to help you set up your new home theater system.
This post was really interesting. I had no idea that retailers and customers were using twitter in order to accommodate each other. What's even more interesting is that twitter was named the most used word of 2009. Although it isn't a huge shock, it does goes to show you how powerful and influential twitter has been this year.
ReplyDeleteI think the use of Twitter for retailers, especially this holiday shopping season is great. They have a direct link to their customers. If retailers are smart, they will know how to leverage the social media outlets to their advantage. The President of Disney Stores Worldwide was smart when he tweeted about a deal they were offering, saying that in order to find out the deal, followers had to go to Disney's Facebook page. So not only are customers following Disney on Twitter, they are forced to friend them on Facebook as well. It will be really interesting to see an analysis of how social media sites played a role in holiday sales.
ReplyDeleteTwitter has offered some really interesting marketing ideas this holiday season. I didn't know about the Best Buy twittering but that sounds like a very cool way for them to get their sales out to the public. All retailers were looking for more interesting ways to attract customers this year (I know Toys R Us was opening at Midnight on Black Friday morning), but Twitter is definitely an interesting way for a company to get their message out there this year
ReplyDeleteIf anything Twitter is only but a small sample of what is going on with communication through the Internet. This focus on Statuses and tweets pushes web communication into not only person to person dialogue, but opens up the discussion to anybody and everybody. From a business perspective the game is changed entirely. Word of mouth takes seconds instead of days when it comes to movies. So companies are pressured to make as much the first weekend or make a better movie in general.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the marketing ideas companies and retailiers have come up with through Twitter is unbelievable, and really interesting. All day today I have been following @broadwaycom as they are giving away free Broadway tickets to two shows tonight. They do this about once a week (but I have yet to win!). The number of people that read or reply to this is unreal! It is a great way of marketing new Broadway shows, or just trying to get people out there.
ReplyDeleteRetailers can easily reach people and potentially give away things for free that will get people to their websites or stores to make more purchases, especially during the holiday season. It most definitely gets the word out there, and gets people talking... or tweeting.
Twitter is a major force in the business world, and career oriented undergraduates should become familiar with it, if you aren't already. This is the sort of thing we'll be discussing in the Social Media class next semester.
ReplyDeleteI found this cool chart on social media analytics which may provide insight on how bestbuy navigates their social media campaign.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.goingsocialnow.com/assets_c/2009/12/socialframework-886.php