Twitter: 'Not a Tool - a Real-Time Mindset'

In a conference I attended this past weekend, I had the pleasure of hearing David Meerman Scott speak. He is the author of the recent book Real-Time Marketing and PR. He spoke on why companies - B2C and B2B - should take advantage of tools such as Twitter, blogs, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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In fact, he made a point to say that Twitter in particular is not just a tool. It is a "real-time mindset." In other words, Twitter is one of the many new ways companies can respond – in real-time – to what is going on in the world, in their industry or with their customers. B2C companies such as BestBuy and Nordstrom use it to engage directly with customers. Customers can send a message via Twitter and get immediate responses on anything from product availability in local stores to recommended clothing options.

Another way to use Twitter and other online tools such as blogs: to respond to news in your industry. Scott was fond of saying during his presentation: "What's the second paragraph?" Meaning, something big happens. Can you be a part of the story? One example he provided: A video featuring a song that a United Airlines customer wrote about United breaking his guitar. If you haven't seen it, view United Breaks Guitar here.

The video went viral – and the maker of the singer's guitar – Taylor Guitars – created a video in response about how to protect guitars while flying. The title of the video, posted on YouTube, Taylor Guitars Responds to United Breaks Guitars. Find that here. That made Taylor Guitars part of the story and gave it exposure. And they didn't spend a lot of time thinking it over. It took the company an hour to come up with and put the video together, according to Scott.

Another example: A company responded to the acquisition of its competitor by a large organization by writing an analytical blog about it on its site. As a result, and because of the few details the large organization would provide about the acquisition, the media called the company for quotes, giving it more exposure than the acquirer and leading to the company gaining many of its competitor's customers.

The world of communication is certainly changing, and his presentation touched on just some of what some companies are doing to keep up with these online dynamics. While B2C companies have pioneered some of the best practices in this area, there are opportunities for B2B companies to exploit these tools to build a positive image online.

Learn more about the book, Real-Time Marketing and PR.