As Twitter’s popularity and user base have rapidly grown in the last eight years, companies have used this as an opportunity to engage customers on the social networking and micro-blogging site. Twitter has become a medium for entertainment, news, product releases and reviews, as well as brand building. However, the instantaneous, small word-count tweet can sometimes go out a little too fast and easily. Whether it’s a tweet gone wrong or a bigger company issue at hand, follow these tips from PR Daily to master your apology on Twitter.
1. Be sincere and concise.
A simple and direct message is the most effective in this situation. Luckily, Twitter’s 140- character maximum helps the message to be concise and to the point. The apology needs to have an authentic voice, but also a voice that matches that of the brand elsewhere. An apology that is inconsistent with the company’s overall tone is not likely to be accepted by customers, so avoid this by simply matching the voice of the message with the brand’s voice.
2. Don’t make excuses.
Not only do you not want to take up any of your valuable space in your short tweet limit, but you also do not want to point fingers. Take responsibility – your followers will appreciate the honesty.
3. If you say there will be a follow up, actually follow up.
A simple apology is not quite enough anymore. If appropriate, assure followers that a more detailed follow up on the issue will be forthcoming, and then deliver. This is especially true for customer service or product issue apologies, for these issues directly affect your customer base. Customers will want the appropriate information to tackle the issue at hand.
4. Provide contact information.
If there is room in the tweet word count, include an email address so that followers may reach out. In today’s world, it is all about customer service, so giving customers contact information is essential.
Great customer service includes a sincere apology when one is needed. Whether the apology is remedying a larger company issue or a smaller tweet mistake, Twitter can be an easy and effective way to reach customers. If the right steps are taken and the apology is sincere and takes responsibility for the mistake, customers will be appreciative of the honesty.
For more on perfecting an apology, see our blogs on How to Apologize Effectively and Three Studies in Public Apologies & Crisis Communications.