A Lesson from @KDTrey5 and @VZWSupport

Last Thursday, Tony Srebnik spoke with us about social media and how businesses can use it for their benefit. His lecture and the two handouts that supplemented it all touched on the fact that many businesses / public individuals are ignoring social media and disregarding how influential it can be in reaching and establishing a good rapore with the public. I though the fact that 95% of companies aren’t responding to Tweets was the most surprising. Offering a brief response is such a simple thing to do that can have such a big impact.

I was thinking about how a simple Tweet can be a powerful message today when I was reading an article about how Kevin Durant recently played a flag football game with a group of OSU students because of a Tweet. I don’t know the reason why he did this, but it certainly seems to have created positive buzz and publicity. Whether it was a strategic move or he was bored and just wanted to play, it benefited him and his image. I don’t really know all that much as Kevin Durant and what kind (if any) sponsorships or endorsement deals he has, but he may have just positioned himself for more.

 Another example that came to mind was something that happened to me earlier in October. I have had one bad experience after another dealing with Verizon and I am sure I am not alone. After one particularly bad experience, I Tweeted about how much I hate them. I don’t really know why I did it, I guess just out of frustration. I have about 10 followers on Twitter, so anything I say doesn’t really have much reach anyway. To my surprise, they responded to my Tweet. I still hate Verizon, but I have to admit that it made me feel better to know that they know that I hate them. It made me feel better that I knew that I was able to reach out to them. And as much as I hate to admit it, Verizon is practicing good business and good PR by responding to Tweets.

Companies and individuals can learn from Kevin Durant and Verizon. Don’t ignore social media! Its such a simple, easy and cost effective way to reach customers and fans and establish a more positive relationship.