Why a 280-Character Customer Service Tweet is a Bad Idea

April 26, 2013

Read this tale of social customer service in which Bluehost sends me, the customer, a 280-character response that’s broken mid-sentence into two 140-character tweets. Read my explanation of why writing to a customer in this fashion is the opposite of a good idea.

Using Twitter for Customer Service? Answer the customer’s dang question

February 7, 2013

I recently read “The Great Social Customer Service Race,” an experiment by Software Advice, Inc., which put 14 top consumer brands to the Twitter support test. As you might imagine, some brands, like Wells Fargo, fared poorly. Read Software Advice’s rewrite of a “robotic” Wells Fargo tweet, then read mine.

Seven Must-Have Elements of Your Social Media Emergency Kit

August 23, 2012

It can strike any time with any brand. Chick-Fil-A, Nestlé, and Domino’s have experienced a social media crisis. If a similar crisis hit your brand, would you be prepared? Just like the emergency kit that keeps your family safe during a natural disaster, a Social Media Emergency Kit for your brand is key to surviving a social media crisis.

Download our “Guide to Writing for Social Media”

July 2, 2012

Check out our latest handy free download for wordslingers and communication campaigners: Guide to Writing for Social Media. We developed this 57-page guide for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The examples in the guide are health-related, but the advice about writing for social media is practical for any organization that wants to provide high quality social content for customers and readers

Help me solve the mystery of how I wrote the World’s Worst Tweet and killed interest in a great free resource

June 13, 2012

I really need your help. A few days ago I tweeted about a new resource I’m offering for download at my site, a Guide to Writing for Social Media. I expected a good response, but what actually happened was … well … nothing. My conclusion: I have written the World’s Worst Tweet. So I need your help: What is it about how I wrote this tweet that enabled me to KILL interest in a great resource? Comment here to share your thoughts about why my tweet is so stultifying. Revise it for me, please.