Let us go then, you and I, to the Twitter accounts of the top brands. Before we do, I’m going to make a prediction: the majority of their tweets will be @ replies. That’s interesting for several reasons. First, it signifies that they are using Twitter to engage with their customer base by responding to their questions, suggestions and comments. Second, it indicates a neglect of what their followers find compelling.

It’s uninteresting to follow a company I care about and only read their replies to their customers. I’m going to generalize and say that we follow companies because we like their products and services, we want discounts, special access to promotions, to get closer to a world view we share as well as a response to our questions.

If the majority of a company’s responses are @ replies, it signifies a company is listening. However, listening alone is not compelling, especially if a company’s responses are not directed at you.

Check it out for yourself. Go to these Twitter accounts and see:

@Starbucks
@JetBlue
@Wholefoods

There is another side to this discussion. If we think of the brand as a person and Twitter its voice, the account consisting of a majority of @ replies is approachable. Customers feel that can ask a question and receive a response, evidenced by the account’s activity. It communicates something real about the brand.

I am in favor of a balanced approachability strategy that signifies you are listening, while also providing engaging content. We track the ratio of @ replies in our tweet stream for clients as a metric that helps us navigate this.

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