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Blue Bawls

JetBlue twitterDo you Twitter? It's an important question for marketers, many of whom are tiptoeing gingerly into social media. Described as collaborative communication and "micro-blogging," Twitter now plays host to millions of the influencers marketers want to reach. However, marketers who overplay their hand may raise hackles in what is still a fiercely independent community.

That hasn't stopped some companies from establishing a Twitter identity and communicating directly with current and potential customers. One such adventurer is JetBlue Airways, which has begun answering questions and responding to comments there. "We try to go for viral word-of-mouth marketing," says Morgan Johnston, manager of corporate communications for the airline, which last year placed a video on YouTube of its then-CEO apologizing for major flight delays.

Johnston admits that the Twitter click-throughs have been minimal when he provides links to, say, discount fares. But that's not why he's there. "I believe you have to go where the customers are and engage in conversations with them," he says. "If our customers are hanging out in places like YouTube or Facebook or Twitter, it's incumbent on us to be there."
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