What To Do When Clients Are Following You On Twitter

Team Online

Do you communicate with your clients and/or customers when they come into your business or offices? Obviously yes! And how do you behave then? There are rules and boundaries for that right? The situation is pretty much the same when it comes to them following you on twitter. You can never be too careful, at the same time, they should not feel alienated or patronized and further you do not want to show them your bad side online. Let us look at this in detail

Team Online

One of the dumbest statements I hear business and/or professional services firms say is that they don’t want their clients or customers following them on twitter. Huh!? The most common excuse I hear from these businesses or professional service firms is that they don’t want these clients and/or customers to read what they post on twitter. And I am sure you don’t want these same clients and/or customers observing you act like a complete jerk or idiot at a cocktail party either.

First of all, if you are a business or professional firm, you should be using twitter as a business tool. You should be curtailing your conversations on twitter the same way you would be conducting yourself when you are in your office or business. Simply put, behave yourself.

Your clients or customers are using the internet to find products and services. They are wanting to use the internet to communicate with you and find out about you. They are using the internet as a means to build a relationship not only with friends and family, but with businesses and other professionals in their lives.

If this is where your potential and current clients and customers are going, shouldn’t you be there too. Don’t use the excuse you don’t want your customers or clients to know what you are tweeting on twitter as a reason to stay off of twitter.

You should be inviting everyone to follow you on twitter. Put you twitter ID in your email signature. Put your twitter ID on your blog too. Give your potential and current clients or customers every opportunity to find you and follow you.Give them every opportunity to find out you are not afraid to carry on a conversation with them where they are at, the internet.

The point is, no one will do business with a singer who cannot sing, or a dancer who cannot dance. The same applies to a social media service company that does not tweet. That will damage your image for a long time and as a brand you do not want that at all. You want to be seen as a company that is professional and knows what it is doing. How do you do that? Simple, remember the following things

  1. Never post radical tweets
  2. Praising the competition on twitter is good, but do not go overboard
  3. Do not respond to provocation
  4. Do not artificially inflate follower numbers
  5. Tweet only about the Subject Area of your work
  6. Do not go overboard tweeting quotes or jokes
  7. Point to your blog liberally in your tweets
  8. Typos are a big let down
  9. RT your clients regularly
  10. Always remember to obfuscate the information in your tweets so as to not violate your NDA with your client about their IP and your services

There, you are good to go! Cheers!

About Shakthi

I am a Tech Blogger, Disability Activist, Keynote Speaker, Startup Mentor and Digital Branding Consultant. Also a McKinsey Executive Panel Member. Also known as @v_shakthi on twitter. Been around Tech for two decades now.

View all posts by Shakthi →