Comments on: Information vs. Engagement: Are You Giving People What They Need?

By: Mat Maynor

Mat Maynor — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:37:13 +0000

Ok, so I’ve been thinking about your post for days. I totally agree with you, but here, now, in 2010 I still think it’s about engagement. Sure, some companies get it and have for a long time so they are beyond the engagement paradigm, but for most companies I still find that they are not really engaging their customers in social media. The pattern of developing a facebook fan page or twitter feed and calling that engagements is all to prevalent. Look at the abundance of b2c related companies that have the above mentioned out reaches and simply post ad copy in the status updates. There is no engagement, no conversation, and no relationship. It is simply another marketing/advertising channel they think they can take advantage of due to the friend or following status. So, as I said earlier I think that for many companies rethinking what engagement means is essential and for those of us involved in social media it is important to help them take their first real baby steps into solutions that meet their customer’s needs.

Mat

http://twitter.com/thinkstrategy

By: Cindy C.

Cindy C. — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:42:41 +0000

Excellent post, once again!! I don’t necessarily have trouble w/people “broadcasting”, if that’s what’s needed. But to only broadcast about how much you engage people, seems a little…paradoxical to me.

By: Shelly Kramer

Shelly Kramer — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:27:41 +0000

Like a great film, this is the kind of post that leaves you thinking about it long after you read it. Thanks for the great thoughts, Kristi – I love it when you let the rest of us dive into that brilliant brain of yours. I encounter many people who don’t consider user experience at all, never mind user desires, goals, etc., and who just design to suit their own needs and tastes. Those people who don’t figure out that customers will gravitate most quickly to the companies who solve their problems, anticipate their needs, efficiently and effectively dispatch information, etc., will be, in my opinion, left shaking their heads and wondering why the money isn’t rolling in. Thanks again for sharing these thoughts, my friend.

By: Glenn Friesen | Customer Service Training

Glenn Friesen | Customer Service Training — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:06:39 +0000

Very insightful post, Kristi! I understand where you’re coming from per our conversation on Twitter much better!

I have a personal, somewhat different way of finding specific pieces of company information that some folks find interesting. I let Google look for me. After discovering a relevant URL (whether a Twitter account or Corporate URL), I use the “site:” Google Search Operator and my search terms.

- How I’d look for a company’s address.
- How I’d look for a mention of a Twitter handle in another’s stream.
- How I’d look for Hours of operation.

Hope that helps someone!

Hope to read more of your thoughts about automation and customer service on Twitter. Enjoyed reading into these topics. Thanks!

Glenn Friesen
http://impactlearning.com
http://twitter.com/impactlearning

By: Vincent Fry

Vincent Fry — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:29:50 +0000

A smidge long. Fortunately, halftime came. Good stuff though.

By: John McTigue

John McTigue — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:44:16 +0000

I totally agree with your main theme. I think we (the people who use and promote social media) are guilty of oversimplifying it, perhaps because we are trying so hard to make a square peg fit into a round hole. For example, the huge emphasis on engagement and authority. Sometimes these are key factors in gaining or retaining loyal customers, sometimes not. As you say, sometimes just having the goods readily available is enough. Maybe if we less time riding the wave and more time studying its patterns, we might be better surfers.

By: Simon Kuo

Simon Kuo — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:42:49 +0000

Excellent points Kristi. I think there is a tendency to forget people who simply seek information because it’s something we do all of the time. I also think “real-time” social media like Twitter still do a poor job of allowing people to retrieve information that has been provided in the past.

One more point-I would probably create a category called “cataloguers” and put some of items that are in “collectors” and “critics” into it, including tagging, favoriting, & rating articles with stars.

Thanks for the thought provoking thoughts in this post.

By: Jesse Luna

Jesse Luna — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:27:32 +0000

I don’t think that looking at certain accounts as a straight info or service provider is a bad thing. I think it’s a matter of expectation. If people expect an account to contact them, listen in, and respond during work hours at least, then that’s one thing. But people only expect data back on a tweet then I don’t see anything wrong with that. Expectation.

I know of one account (engineering focused) that will DM you a datasheet if you tweet it a part number. That’s a pure service. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, if the flow works (it doesn’t all the way but that’s a different issue). Kogi BBQ tweets out locations as a courtesy ping, then hungry people run out to meet it. That’s just information and that’s fine.

There’s still a ton of innovation that will occur on social networks like Twitter, and some of it will be fully automated.