Top 20 Brands That Know How To Engage With Customers On Twitter

The average top brands from around the globe tweet at least 12 times a day according to a recent report by SimplyMeasured, a social media analytic tool. The same report also shows that 54 percent of these brands are sending less than one @ reply per day, as we can read in Mashable.

Most of these brands may have more than a million followers just because they have a global presence, but there is no point in having such a big audience when you do not acknowledge their presence via Twitter conversations.

It is not even about the numbers anymore, but about the brand experience of a customer on various online and offline platforms, Twitter in this case.

As a Twitter user, it just feels good sometimes when a brand replies to your tweet. It makes you feel important and special.

Those days are gone when brands seemed like big corporations that only got in touch with you during marketing campaigns. With the advent of social media platforms such as Twitter, a brand's personalized response to its fans makes it feel more human-like and something you can easily connect to and relate to.

I am going to list out, in this post, 20 examples of top brands in the global market who are known to engage with tweeters that mention their brand or branded keywords. Whether it is a follower or a non-follower, engaging with them on a regular basis will help improve your brand reputation and also probably grow the number of followers.

Before going to the list, I would like you to note that some of these brands have created a separate Twitter page to handle queries and feedback. Nevertheless, whoever seems to mention their main brand is given an @reply and redirected to that page that handles customer complaints and queries. But if you are a small to mid-sized business, it is advised to keep your Twitter interactions within your brand page, in order to increase the social media authority of that page.

Now let's start with the list, but make sure you read them all, because at the end you will find 5 great takeaways for your account:

Adidas Originals Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

With over 1.82 million followers, Adidas Originals does a great job in tracking their brand mentions and replying to every tweet that gives opinions or feedback on their Twitter posts or products.

Many fans even post pictures of their Adidas shoes, and the brand spares no time in acknowledging these fans via Twitter @replies.

2. @AskAmex, The Dedicated Helper

AmericanExpress Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

American Express has adopted a good way of dealing with customer complaints, queries and feedback - in a separate Twitter account specially created for that purpose. Customers who need answers to their questions related to their American Express cards, tweet @AmericaExpress and they get politely worded requested to tweet @AskAmex where a dedicated team of answers customer questions.

This is a great example of top brands trying to improve brand loyalty and take care of customer support via Twitter.

They let their customers know with a tweet on their main Twitter brand page (@AmericanExpress) that their customer support team is available @AskAmex from Monday-Friday 9am to 10pm ET. Take a look at the tweet screenshot below:

American Express Tweet About Their Customer Support Team On Twitter (image credit "“ twitter.com)

3. @DeltaAssist, Customer Comes First

DeltaAssist Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Similar to @AskAmex, Delta Airlines seem to send their customers to a Twitter page dedicated to customer support. They seem to take their customers on Twitter rather seriously, as they have employed over 21 personnel to take care of customer support at DeltaAssist.

Take a look at the team's list of personnel below:

DeltaAssist Team

DellCares Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

@DellCares is again an example of a top brand dedicating a completely different Twitter brand page for customer support. These are brands that probably have a lot of customer queries, feedback and complaints and hence find the need to keep their regular Twitter brand page separate from the one that handles customer relations.

Notice how they personalize every tweet with the persons name in the above sample screenshot from @DellCares. It really does create the impression that "Dell Cares".

5. @Firefox, Immediate Acknowledgement

FireFox Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Firefox treat their followers as a part of their online community and show their appreciation by replying to every tweet that mentions them. They face negative comments with a rather calm approach and retain their customers by offering links of sites that might give useful information to solve their problems.

Take a look at one such conversation below.

Firefox Handles Negative Comments On Twitter Via @Replies (image credit "“ twitter.com)

6. @CocaCola, Impressive Support

Coca-Cola Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter)

Coca-Cola is one of the world's largest brands with innumerable consumers globally. They have one of the most popular Twitter pages with more than 2 million followers. They would have these followers irrespective of whether they have an interactive brand page. But they still do make a tremendous effort in acknowledging the tweets with brand mentions or brand hashtag campaigns, with prompt and personalized @replies.

This is great example of going that extra mile in social media branding, especially for a brand that is already well established.

7. @JetBlue, Empathizing Engagers

Jetblue Airways Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Unlike Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways choose to solve their customer queries right on their Twitter brand page by replying to every customer that mention them in their tweets. They do a good job at it as it is evident from their brand's 'Tweets and Replies' section.

SouthWest Airlines Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Just like JetBlue Airlines, SouthWest Airlines also follow the policy of facing and solving problems of their customers right on their brand page. They reply to every @mention of their brand and do a fabulous job of customer support via @replies on their Twitter brand page.

Samsung Support USA Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Samsung USA seems to have dedicated a separate Twitter brand page especially for customer support. They direct product queries to this page and make sure customers receive prompt help via @replies.

Being one of the largest brands for consumer products, having a separate Twitter handle for customer support makes sense. It works well for them to handle customer queries in a timely manner and maintain brand integrity.

10. @Nike, They JustDoIt

Nike Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Being the oldest and the biggest brand in the world, Nike seem to have no problems in garnering more than 3 million fans on their Twitter page. But what sets them apart from any other infamous brands with millions of followers, is their friendly acknowledgement of their customer's tweets about their products.

The 'justdoit' campaign on TV ads and other marketing channels,have caught upon loyal users of the brand so much so that they love to tweet it as a hashtag. Nike in return loves to motivate their customers even more with @replies that have a friendly tone of voice.

11. @Woot, Fun Engagers

Woot Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

There is something about Woot's Twitter profile that makes it different from other top brands on Twitter. Oh wait, I know what that something is "“ a dash of humor. They make their @replies funny and light-hearted. Of course there is no humor involved in the more serious customer concerns, but for others, their @replies are worth reading.

The message from this example is, you do not always have to be ultra professional, uptight and formal on Twitter. It is OK to loosen up a bit and talk to your customers like you would to your friends.

Take a look at the screenshot of one such example below:

Example Of A Light-Hearted Twitter Conversation With Customer By Woot (image credit "“ twitter.com)

12. @Starbucks, Caffeinated Engagers

Starbucks Coffee Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Starbucks is yet another brilliant example of the most engaged top brand on Twitter. They have a whopping 6 million followers and more each day but they do an excellent job of tracking down brand mentions of their followers and non-followers and @reply them promptly with more information links, appreciation, empathy and gratitude.

13. @Target, Energetic Engagers

Target Twitter Engagement With Customer (image credit "“ twitter.com)

The American retailing company Target is yet another fantastic example of top brand engagement using @replies. They handle their customer queries and feedback right on their Twitter brand page.

Victorias Secret Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Victoria's Secret is another top brand on Twitter that leaves no stones unturned when it comes to engaging with their customers and acknowledging their brand mentions with a personalized @reply.

The best part about Victoria's Secret @replies is that they always happen to mention the first name of the tweeter in all their @replies making the response friendly and personalized. Check it out in the screenshot above or in the 'Tweets and Replies' section of Victoria's Secret's Twitter brand page.

WholeFoodsMarket Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Whole Foods Market is an inspiring example of a top brand showing their appreciation, gratitude and sometimes empathy with their customers on Twitter. They make use of @replies perfectly to create customer engagement on their Twitter brand page.

They keep their Twitter conversations light-hearted and friendly.

Example For A Light-Hearted Twitter Conversation With Customer By @WholeFoods (image credit "“ twitter.com)

16. @Xbox, Short And Sweet

Xbox Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

The whole idea of tweets and Twitter conversation is to keep it short and sweet. Xbox takes this idea literally and keeps their @replies really short and sweet. The good part is being a top brand in the gaming industry, they still find the time to promptly acknowledge their Twitter fans and followers, when their brand is mentioned in their tweets.

17. @Zappos, Interactive Engagers

Zappos Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Zappos is a top American retailing brand with world-class customer service. And since they have an undisputed reputation for customer service on their site, their Twitter brand page is no exception to it either. They have a lively and interactive 'Tweet and Replies' section on Twitter that will show you just how to handle your customer's tweets with professionalism and ease.

If you are an e-commerce brand, you could learn a lot from Zappos.

18. @Subway, Light-hearted Engagers

Subway Restaurants Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Sub way Restaurants is yet another top brand on Twitter that partakes in fun and light-hearted Twitter conversations with their fans and followers. They also seem to make their @replies visually appealing by using various relevant emoticons like in the example shown below:

Example Twitter Conversation With The Use Of Emoticons By @Subway (image credit "“ twitter.com)

19. @McDonalds, Welcoming Support

McDonalds Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

McDonalds are quick to respond and acknowledge customer tweets that mention their brand or brand's hashtags. Their Twitter conversations are welcoming and friendly, as evident in the screenshot above.

20. @Buffer, Quick Support

Buffer Twitter Engagement With Customers (image credit "“ twitter.com)

Now this brand is being listed in this post, not out of research but out of personal experience. It is funny that just when I was writing this post, I happened to face issues with buffer and tweeted about it to a friend.

No sooner that the tweet went online, a Buffer representative was prompt enough to reply to my tweet, apologize for the inconvenience and make sure to track the issue in future. You can see his reply in the screenshot towards the bottom. I think that was great customer service on the part of Buffer via Twitter conversations. Also, they seem to have a lot of such @replies going on with their existing users already. Hence they made into this list of top brands on Twitter that engage with customers.

5 Takeaways For Your Brand Twitter Account

• Keep track of every Twitter mention of your brand and respond to them promptly.
• Keep the tone of your @replies friendly, and in cases of negative feedback, be calm and try to solve the problem.
• Quote the tweeter'name in your @replies and make it personalized.
• Even if the brand mention is not aimed at getting a response from you, acknowledge the feelings or opinions of the tweeter, even if it just with an emoticon.
• If possible, add some appropriate humor in your @replies.

So, these were the top 20 brands providing great inspiration for any business that has a Twitter brand page. These brands may have more or less than a million fans but they make sure each of their fans' concerns or opinions are respected and acknowledged.

If you are wondering how these brands keep track of brand mentions, I recommend you take a look at our previous post on 10 Free Twitter Tools For All Your Twitter Marketing Needs. Some of the tools mentioned in this post can help you be as proactive and responsive as these top brands on Twitter.

Let us know what you do when you have a brand mention on Twitter. Do you get notified of the brand mentions? Do you reply or acknowledge the tweet that mentions you or your brand? What tools do you use to help you manage this?