Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and NewToy have earned the title of “Celebrity Status” and let me show you why! These companies are not sold on the idea of following back! Twitter has not proven to be a great way for these companies to engage, expand their customer service, and promote brands. The companies listed above are selling a product that lot people use, buy, and depend on. The companies have products where customers need help, need technical support, and where customers have questions. Yet the “Celebrity Status” shows they follow few if any customers.
Celebrity Status Revealed:
“Sprint’s official Twitter account for customer care.” is @sprintcare Out of 2969 followers it is following 2 back. @sprintcare twitter page shows that it does engage with individuals on Twitter just doesn’t follow back.
@BizSolutions is the Official Twitter page of AT&T’s enterprise solutions and more. @BizSolutions follows 2035 out of the 5015 followers. Another AT&T account that is used for small business http://twitter.com/smallbizinsite follows 1219 out of 7330 followers. Both of these accounts on Twitter are AT&T product pushers (spammers) very little interaction. Only tweets about their product received a Retweet.
Verizon uses @VZWSupport bio reads: Manage your account online and get information on How To’s, downloads, troubleshooting and more! It would be great for the 7709 followers to have the ability to direct message and contribute to troubleshooting and account information. Verizon only follows 810 back. @VZWSupport does have interaction with individuals on Twitter. Their stream is mostly replies.
My favorite games are by @NewToy bio reads: We’re Newtoy, makers of Words With Friends, Chess With Friends and We Rule. You would rule even more if you would follow more than 39 out of your 8309 followers. I have personally encountered issues with your products where a DM would have been ideal. @NewToy does have mainly replies in their twitter stream which means they are engaging and interacting on Twitter just not following back.
Twitter offers a “follow” and “unfollow” button and if companies engage with customers and listen to their concerns it is easy to recognize who to follow and bots! Engaging with customers promotes Twitter presence and makes it easier for customers to communicate with the company directly.
Is there a problem with Sprint, Verizon, Newtoy, and AT&T having a “Celebrity Status”? Let me introduce to a few companies that are defining “Social Media” and expanding their customer service efforts on Twitter:
@icebreakernz following: 3401 followers: 3149 This company also has 514 tweets and if you look at the twitter stream most of them are responding directly to other individuals, not spamming their brand.
@PizzaHut is another engaging company account! Their Twitter stream is full of replies or tweet questions to engage with others. They follow 27152 out of the 32169 followers.
@Tmobile has a Twitter stream full of replies and interactive questions with other Tweeters. @Tmobile is following 65,000 and has 61,000 followers. No product pushing, all their tweets were replies directly to individuals!! Amazing to see!
DM works! A direct message is quicker than a phone call! As a customer I have had issues and sending a DM to the company is always ideal! I am on Twitter all the time, and a quick DM is always better than waiting on the company to acknowledge the problem on their website or phone call! The presence on Twitter to enhance customer service and promote products while engaging with customers is key! Defined as Social Media Success!
Do you agree? Is a followback important? Where is your company today?
P.s. I am inspired by the companies that are making the effort to engage with their customers and add the “Social” to Social Media! 
Interesting idea. I am not sure if it’s a “celebrity issue” or a “they don’t get it” issue. Given the history of telecommunication companies, I would think the later. A lot of companies like the ones you mentioned are more receptive to the concept of social media and are using it to their advantage. Great post.
Thanks Todd I would agree with you that they just don’t get it! “Celebrity Status” is not a good title for a company to have! We love their products and services but they have neglected to advance their brand and their customer service to the next level. It was a fun post to write thanks for reading!
Great post gal! I think it is very important to follow back. It amazes me that more of the ‘top rung’ companies are not engaging socially with their customers. Word of mouth is the strongest form of advertising and can go both ways. As a business owner, it is important that I connect with my customers {present, past & future}, not only to handle problems that may arise but to also show my appreciation for them.
Interesting choice of companies.
I agree with Todd… some still need a lot of Tweetology in order to “get it”
The same applies for “Customer Service” – many businesses have a really long and shallow learning curve.
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Thanks Lisa “appreciation” is how I would define a followback! It just shows you care!
I picked these companies because most people know them. They have products that almost everyone has had issues with. We live off our phones it seems like and it was surprising to see the numbers and not blog about it! Appreciate your comment.
I totally agree Francis! It’s disappointing when I find a company I care about on Twitter, only to discover they are NOT really ON Twitter… just promotional updates with no interaction. On the other hand, when I do hear from a company, especially unsolicited, regarding a concern of mine, I am inclined to spread the word about great customer service. @EarthLink_Gary and @EarthLink_Jen are two great examples. They responded right away to a concern I had regarding their service. Consequently I wasted no time Tweeting about Earthlinks great CS!
Melody I was shocked at the research and very disappointed! Thank you for sharing your great CS experience that is exactly what we should find on Twitter!
Interesting post, Francis. Although I’m not sure what the big deal is in sending a company an @ tweet vs. DM if the end result is a response from the company.
And here’s a twist: I’ve heard through the grapevine that Twitter will soon be releasing a business tool kit that will allow companies to receive DMs from anyone.
While I agree that following back is a common courtesy…I think that is not as important for these companies as a quick response would be. If I have a problem with my Sprint service and tweet about it, will @sprintcare immediately respond to assist? Ultimately as a customer THAT is what will matter most. Thanks for the post & discussion.
@marylynn3
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I agree! I did research the twitter pages on the companies and most do reply! The only one I found to be a product pusher (spammer) was AT&T! It was a fun post to research. I should have tried asking each a question! Hmmm…Maybe on another post!
David @Calkster you know more than I do on this business twitter project! That would be great!! A tweet is great if the company responds and most do. I was just doing basic research and found it interesting on why companies would choose the “Celebrity Status” over just following customers back.
Thank you for sharing, and I agree. Interaction is the name of the game.
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Thanks Luay! Interaction and enhancing customer service is what Social Media allows and should be exploited by companies!
Interaction certainly IS the name of the game.. I reply to every mention.. At times this is hard to do.. BUT this interaction MAKES the Twitter experience WHOLE! RICH :0)
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We wholeheartedly agree. In fact, Twitter interaction with customers, as well as those shopping, now rivals that of email and our website! -Jim
The problem is that many of these companies and celebrities don’t understand Twitter. Too many look upon it as a badge of merit to reach x number of followers, but don’t understand that it is an extremely useful 2-way communication tool. You see this kind of thing a lot: http://twitter.com/GarySinise/status/23931615530. Now I think Gary is a patriot and an all around nice fellow, but he is just another celebrity that doesn’t understand Twitter. Kelsey Grammer, on the other hand, gets it.
The Twitter strategy of some brands just stumps me! Then someone brought to my attention that many times the account is being managed by someone they picked in the office as with a small brand(that will remain nameless)that I recently spoke to. When I spoke to the brand account manager they didn’t even understand what a retweet was! I was shocked! Btw, @Bark_Chocolates and other brands you mentioned I believe will see the fruits of their interaction. I know it sways me as a consumer. Great post Francis.
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Oh wow, quite thought provoking, and one issue I hadn’t considered. I follow a few companies and some have offered a follow back. All in all, I think those major companies need a person whose position is to focus on social media. I believe, companies need to recognize the changing time and the power that social media has. By engaging with social media their brand presence has a chance of doing even better.
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I really liked your article and i think that following back is important… : ) Hugs
debra @momsofamerica