Tweets for the Collectors

Recently, I've been involved in a pilot to use Twitter to connect with our (Air Miles Reward Program) Collectors and fans. The program talks to millions of Collectors via email, and ten of thousands via calls in to the Customer Service Centre, and every day millions of Collectors use their cards at our sponsors, so why not another new channel.  Not sure if we'll continue to use it, but we need to evaluate it to decide, so away I go... I've been a loud proponent of social media for some time, and especially the role big business can play by maintaining reputation and even more importantly engaging savvy customers in their channel of preference. In all likelihood, most Collectors who are heavy Twitter users are the same Collectors that we're not able to engage via the traditional channels. They've got all their marketing email going to a spam folder, they empty their mail into the recycling bin every week, and could be avid users of the program, but do it on their own terms. (Maybe I'm giving Twitter users too much credit) Anyway, I've found many great posts about how to use twitter to the maximum benefit of the company, and how best to get the word out, and how to optimize the tweets so that you're not wasting time, etc, etc... What I really liked though was a post about rules. There are no rules. You can invent your own rules and reasons for tweets, and as long as you're honest and consistent, if that's what people want to follow-- they follow you. Here's what I've decided for our pilot:

• I'm not customer service. If I get asked a question and I know the answer, I'll answer, because maybe that will help some other people, but if you have a problem, we have hundreds of pros with proper training for that. (I'm a marketing guy)

• Spam sucks. I have some feeds pulling in some news and other interesting Air Miles related content into my Twitter stream, but engagement is what counts.

• If someone is talking about us, or our sponsors, maybe they're interested in what I have to say. Engagement

• People want value. No I will not give you free Air Miles Reward Miles for following me, but I will share the latest scoop on where to go for a bonus, or what the best offer is when you're credit card shopping. Value. Part of the intent of the pilot is to give the super-savvy something to listen to.

• I'm still a marketing dude. When I read a cool blog post about something or hear a news item that I think will interest those who follow @AirMiles, I'm going to share it. The PR dept doesn't do that, but that's a dept, not a person. This is new territory. If the followers of @AirMiles don't feel like they're interacting with a human, then all of the sudden it's another spammy marketing channel, and engagement is lost. Transparency and Honesty.

• Value for our Sponsors. Whenever possible, I'm going to mention the fact that I'm on my shopping trip to Metro, or visiting a BMO ATM to get cash, or filling up at the LCBO. I'm in Ontario, so my mentions of Safeway or the Manitoba Liquor stores will be few and far between, but if there's a deal or bonus offer, they will get the mention. The coalition of Sponsors is what makes Air Miles so great. Our followers should love every new opportunity to earn Miles...

As the number of followers of @AirMiles grows (hopefully to the tens of thousands) this new channel will surely evolve. As it does, we'll see what's new that we can share. Later on, I plan to use a service like TwitPic to actually share photos, screenshots, specials, coupons, etc.