Have you noticed that you're getting more and more responses from brands on Twitter lately? Comcast set the pace early on with Frank @comcastcares. Now Twitter teems with brands. The automakers are listening. I tweeted about the automaker bailout, @scottmonty from Ford writes me back. @Zappos, aka Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, is all over Twitter - not in a customer care capacity, but simply adding value by letting people get to know the person behind the brand. (Check out the great blog post he wrote on how Twitter can make you a better and happier person.) Airlines are on board (@delta, @jetblue and more). CNN, Home Depot, Whole Foods and Starbucks, and the list goes on and on. (For more specifics, see the Mashable post on 40 of the best Twitter brands.
But it's not just big brands jumping on board, the smaller players watching and responding to posts. I recently tweeted about using a space heater, and @vornado responded me asking me what kind. No offense Vornado, but I thought that was pretty funny! When I responded to @dogster post regarding my pet insurance, I got an immediate follow from @VPI. I bet most of you have never heard of VPI. (Trust me, when you have a dog like @elguapito, you need pet insurance!)
So let's see. My space heater and doggie insurance are paying attention. But all the gazillions of times I've written about my MacBook Pro or my iPhone (which is pretty often), or my iTouch -- there has been a deafening echo bouncing of the walls of cyberspace. Apple's absence is so prominent, it is starting to create an actual black hole. Can you feel it's pull?
I've asked questions. I've raved and raved about products. Ok, I've complained about a couple of things. I also wrote a lot about my switch from PC to Mac. Nothing. Hmm, I haven't tried "Dear Apple" -- but I'm pretty sure how that will go.
So why the hell isn't Apple listening & responding on Twitter (or anywhere online outside of their own site). It's APPLE. A brand that is the very definition of early adopter. A brand that does an excellent job of customer service in traditional channels.
The two Apple tweet accounts I found are about broadcast, not having conversations. @appleinc tweeted for one whole day on January 6th at MacWorld (self-promotion). And @applenews (more self-promotion). Do they think they checked the box because those accounts exist?
Dear Apple, I love you, but need to know this: when are you going to get with the program?...............................<giant sucking noise>.......................
crap!
Comments