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Archive for the ‘Twitter’ Category

Spying Sales Leads on Twitter

January 27th, 2011 by Erin Posted in Twitter | No Comments »

Twitter is a lot of things to a lot of people… but lead generation? I wasn’t so sure, until now.

Social analytics startup, Viralheat, has just developed a software application that it claims can isolate tweets on Twitter that are potential sales leads. It’s called Human Intent – and it aims to simplify lead generation by helping businesses identify social media users who are on the edge of making purchasing decisions. All the business has to do is set up a keyword search and Human Intent automatically sorts through social media updates to pinpoint those who’re expressing an intent to buy something.

So how does the algorithm work?

Viralheat says it’s a combination of sentiment analysis, language processing and predictive analytics. It identifies people looking to buy something, people complaining about an existing product they own or perhaps looking for a replacement, or anyone who may have an issue with a service they currently use. The algorithm also has built-in filters for intent actions by verticals. Viralheat’s CTO  co-founder Vishal Sankhla notes, “Auto leads are not the same as finance leads, insurance leads, electronic leads, software services leads, etc.”

For higher accuracy, Human Intent includes a spam filter, which removes retweets and mentions that are not relevant. Finally, the algorithm learns through human curation. If it makes a mistake, users can mark tweets that should or should not be identified as leads. As more feedback rolls in, the algorithm improves.

All of Human Intent’s data can be viewed in a dashboard, and can be exported to programs like Excel or Salesforce. Also, since it links directly to consumers’ social updates, businesses using the program can respond to those updates right on the spot.

This is a brilliant idea – as it eliminates the dreary marketing duty of sifting through thousands of tweets and other social updates to determine potential narrow sales leads – which, by the way, I thought was next to impossible on Twitter.

I thought wrong.

Launching in beta next week, Human Intent will only be available to existing Viralheat customers at no additional cost (for now). Once the program launches in full, pricing and availability will be announced, and beta users will receive a discount.

 Tags: human intent, lead generation, sales leads, Twitter, viral heat

Twitter Still Ideal for Customer Service

October 21st, 2010 by Erin Posted in Twitter | No Comments »

Twitter may have lost its edge when it comes to marketing, but it’s still a dynamite platform for customer service.

I can think of two instances in the past few months when I had problems with my services at a local athletic club and at Starwood Hotels. At the club, I had been trying to book a birthday party for my daughter but the party planner was not returning my calls. Two weeks after leaving numerous messages and emails, I finally sent a tweet directly to the athletic club’s account. And, not a direct message either. I sent a public tweet via @reply which EVERYONE could read. Low and behold, I received a call back that very day.

My correspondence with Starwood Hotels played out very similar. I had an issue with my preferred guest points and when I couldn’t get someone on the line, I took to Twitter and – presto – my call was returned and my issues were resolved quickly that very day.

The main goal of customer service is to help someone resolve their issues. While phone conversations can help solve problems, wait times do not. Twitter is a lightning-fast platform that can help sift through and solve problems quickly. And, if they are small issues – like in my cases – a single tweet may be enough.

Sadly, not every person, nor company, is ready to use Twitter as a customer care mechanism. My mom, for instance, does a lot of online shopping and has a whole laundry list of customer service complaints for various retail sites – BUT, my mom is not on Twitter. And, if she were, she wouldn’t know the first thing about contacting a company.

Twitter, in my opinion, is used only by the Twitter savvy. Think about it. It’s not used by the mom and pop who own that convenient store down the road. And, it’s certainly not used by older Americans who, in general, seem to have a lot to complain about. Those are the people who need Twitter most – with regard to customer service, that is.

The bottom line: Great customer service is active, transparent, and fast. And that’s what you’ll find on Twitter – not on the phone talking to an automated machine.

So what that 70% of tweets are ignored? Who has time to wade all that mess anyway? If you have something to say, say it directly to a Twitter user. Your message will be read, your voice will be heard – eventually.

 Tags: customer care, customer complaints, customer service, Twitter, twitter user

Social Media Doesn’t Stack Up for Small Business

October 13th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Business, Twitter | No Comments »

Social media marketing for business is sinking.

Tweets on Twitter are being ignored. Facebook updates are getting buried – and businesses are taking note. The ROI is simply not there.

A September 2010 survey by Econsultancy, sponsored by digital marketing agency bigmouthmedia, found nearly half of companies worldwide felt they were not able to measure the return on their social media investment — even to put a value on it relative to their other marketing activities.

Econsultancy’s report also suggested integration with many other marketing channels was lacking. While the vast majority of companies had managed to integrate email and social media, search engine optimization was the only other marketing channel that came close in integration efforts.

What’s more, a Wired story released via CNN this week indicated – quite bluntly – that Twitter is a waste of time. Toronto-based social media analytics company Sysomos scanned 1.2 billion messages that were sent in August and September 2009 and found that 71% of tweets get absolutely no response. Seven in ten tweets are ignored!

This is tough to swallow – even for me. But it was inevitable. Social media’s swan song appears to be over.

Now what?

 Tags: facebook updates, marketing for business, ROI, social media investment, social media marketing, tweets are ignored, tweets on twitter

A Social Experiment May Prove TV News Is Obsolete

February 3rd, 2010 by Erin Posted in Twitter | No Comments »

I come from a television news background. My husband is a television news anchor.

Television news was, and is, our life blood. If it goes away, we’re screwed.

That’s why I hate to admit that TV news really is dying a slow death thanks to Internet news Websites and social media, like Twitter and Facebook.

And now, a new social experiment may really leave me in a cold sweat.

It’s called “Huis Clos su le Net” or “Behind Closed Doors on the Net.” The experiment will lock five journalists, who are all from other parts of the world, in an isolated French cottage, leaving them without access to print newspapers or magazines.

So how will they keep up with the world? Through Facebook and Twitter.

The experiment will judge how well the journalists can interpret news of the world solely through social websites and how they might go about verifying the facts presented through Facebook and Twitter.

I have yet to get a handle on when this experiment will begin mainly because every website and blog associated with Huis Clos se le Net is in French, including their Twitter feed.

I do expect, however, that when it actually does begin news will spread like wildfire here to the United States.

My gut tells me that the findings from this experiment will not be earth-shattering; that, indeed, you can get ALL of the day’s news right there on Twitter. Facebook I’m not so sure about.

TV news is toast.

My husband better start looking for work.

 Tags: social experiment, social media, television news, twitter and facebook

Social Media, iPhone Apps Help Make A Difference

January 27th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Technology, Twitter | No Comments »

I’m no stranger to adversity.

Sure, ALL of us hit a rough patch now and then – but what I’ve been through, and what the people of Haiti are now growing through, is anything but rough.

It’s pure hell.

My husband and I, and our then 9-month-old daughter, were in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. As you know, the storm sucked the life out of the vibrant city – leaving it flooded and in ruins. The images you saw on TV were bad. But you have no idea what it was like to be there in person. No idea.

I expect the same can be said for what is unfolding right now in Haiti. I’ve seen the footage on the evening news, but being there is another story.

There is a silver lining though.

It is the monumental effort to give and help.

Back in 2005, I was astounded by the generosity of people across this country, and others, to help New Orleanians deal with Katrina’s aftermath. Donation after donation helped the city heal and rebuild. The call to action back then was, what I thought, unprecedented.

What we’re seeing now in Haiti is historic.

Aid is pouring in at an unbelievable rate – more so than ever before. And, it’s all because of technology.

Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have helped people spread the word, and many one-click FREE iPhone applications make donating effortless.

I often wonder how things would have played out in New Orleans – or even in tsunami-ravaged southeast Asia – if Twitter and more smartphone applications were around.

Funny, it was just five years ago – yet it seems like a completely different time.

 Tags: free iphone applications, help haiti, hurricane katrina, social media