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Anyone who has been to college, bought a house, or has a spouse that likes to keep the house cold knows about Vornado. Twitter certainly has its service providers, but manufacturers are also represented. One of the most successful organization’s is Dell, who maintain a host of accounts for what seems to be all customer segments.
In Their Own Words
“Famous for fans. Hellbent on the best heaters. Air Purifiers and Humidifiers too. How can we help you?”
How is Vornado using Twitter?
What a bio; being hellbent on heaters certainly shows passion for the brand. I had an opportunity to speak with Brian Cartwright of Vornado to find how Twitter falls into their business.
JK: When and how did the company first learn about Twitter?
BC: I first heard of it via a digg.com post probably about a year ago. At the time, I thought, “Sounds high maintenance.” I was doing web development at for a wide range of clients, but didn’t bring it up to any of them. Now that I am with Vornado full time, and considering Twitter’s explosive growth, I realized it was time to open Pandora’s box. Vornado as a brand is fortunate to have a very loyal following. I’d like to think we can find, centralize and maybe even expand that following via sites like Twitter.
JK: How are you using Twitter today?
BC: Our use of Twitter today is at best informal and is evolving. We’re still learning. To date we have conducted impromptu surveys of people who are either complaining about or complimenting of their heater’s (any heater, not just Vornado) performance on a cold day. We’ve posted some Vornado-centric content and plenty of content that has nothing to do with the company. My vision for the page is keep the personal side of the company just as visible as the product side. We want to make it easy for our customers to find us, wherever they may look. We want to ensure that their experience with us is completely positive at every touchpoint.
JK: Who was the first person in the company to “get it”? How many levels removed from the CEO was s/he?
BC: Fortunately, our President “gets it” - not only does he get it, he consistently challenges the branding department to keep pushing. There were plenty of confused looks coming from mid-tier folks around here – but fortunately, the prez is already on board and very, very excited about what we’re doing. He has a keen understanding of the potential of web branding, and it’s a big part of why I’m now at Vornado full time- a position was essentially created for this (and other strategic branding activities.)
JK: Did management finally decide to use Twitter in an official way? If yes, what convinced them it was worth looking into? (Was there a story, event, or incident that became the “A-ha” moment?)
BC: Vornado’s process isn’t as bureaucratic as one might think. The management’s philosophy has been to bring in knowledgeable people who are good at what they do - and then give them the room to do it. Our branding department decided that we wanted to create an “official” presence on Twitter, so we did. Within a week or two of us flipping on the twitter switch, we saw that a local news correspondent @anitacochran did a story on Twitter. I sent the link to her story to the key people out here - and I think if there were any doubts whether this was something “real”, the news segment helped dispel those doubts.
JK: In what way did HR, PR, or Legal weigh in on the decision to use Twitter?
BC: Not at all. I had better keep it clean and make sure legal stays out of it too… (just kidding)
(JK: I’ve worked with lawyers for years; this is close to the truth!)
JK: How does Twitter fit into your Corporate Communications, Marketing, and/or Customer Service strategies (if at all)?
BC: I envision it playing a big role in all of the above. We will make new product announcements to our Twitter group, we’ll offer unique pricing. If we are able to amass a good size group of folks that own, or are interested in our products, then we’ll absolutely utilize it as a customer service corridor. We’ll respond based on the needs of the following we attract.
JK: How has Twitter influenced the work of project teams or any collaborative effort within the company?
BC: We are beginning to consider how Twitter might impact our product launch strategies, ongoing consumer education and special pricing promotions.
JK: How do you intend to measure Twitter’s impact on your business? What kind of impact would Twitter have to have before its use is considered a “success” by the enterprise?
BC: Personally, I will gauge our Twitter success on our number of followers. We’re still in the double digits now- so we have a long way to go. We aren’t looking to twitter to be a marketing initiative with tangible R.O.I. - it is a branding initiative. Any marketing benefits that may be derived are peripheral. We’ll also be watching how many folks visit our website based on our “tweets”.
JK: Did you perceive a need for outside consulting to help decide how social media in general and Twitter in particular would be used?
BC: Yes. I’ll be the first to admit that I know “enough to be dangerous” but I certainly don’t know it all. Plus, I know that I never will. Social networking, online branding - these are all my department’s responsibilities, but I can’t focus on them exclusively. We will use experts to help us refine our execution, but a priority for us is that Vornado “keeps it personal” - we want to retain a personal touch with all twittering, blogging, digging, flickr group activity, etc.
JK: Any lessons learned along the way? What advice would you give other companies that are thinking of using Twitter or something similar?
BC: I feel like we’re still too new at this to have much sage-like advice- but my main thought would be to make sure you don’t just start blasting out links to every product you sell, or every service you offer. People are quick, and well advised, to ignore these companies. You need to respect their screen, and their intelligence.
From this interview, we see a few takeaways:
Support from senior management is critical. Not only does this make planning & budgeting easier, but it makes the work fun.
Social initiatives must be given room to succeed. Keep policies out of the mix and develop an atmosphere of trust and responsibility.
Look for the squeeky wheel! Vornado is engaging with people, regardless of the brand.
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