Private/direct messaging can play a major role in any brand’s customer care strategy. Brands can use direct messaging for marketing purposes. But only a few of the people behind most brands’ social media accounts understand the way Twitter DMs work. This article will shed more light on Twitter’s direct messaging.
As we all know, Twitter DMs are specifically for direct messages. That is, the platform’s messaging feature allows users to communicate in private. Twitter DM is a tad different from Facebook or Instagram DMs.Twitter DMs can be up to 10,000 characters, a larger opportunity to say anything unlike the 240-character limit for tweets. You can send a message to users who receive Twitter messages from anyone.
Below are the common reasons why you might want to send a direct message to someone on Twitter:
- You want to discuss something private with the person.
- If you want to make a comment and 240 characters will not be enough.
- You want a communication medium other than email.
Other reasons could include:
Customer service: Your customers want to get quick responses from you. For this reason, you need to be active and responsive on Twitter. Hence, Twitter DMs come to the rescue. If the nature of any customer’s issue is confidential, then you need such conversations to happen in your Twitter DMs to avoid unnecessary call-outs.
Connection: If you are trying to get in touch with someone in your industry and you do not have their email addresses, you can DM them on Twitter.Twitter DMs can serve as another form of communication when it comes to connecting in today’s digital world.
Twitter DMs are best for any personal one-on-one communication exercise. You are free to send long-form messages, have a back-and-forth with customers, and discuss issues with sensitive information.
Twitter DM Best Practices To Follow
The best practices of Twitter DM for brands’ social media managers are:
1. Send a follow-up message if you do not get a reply: This will show that you are quite serious about getting in touch with the person.
2. Send timely replies to your customers: Social media response time matters; we have mentioned that previously. Your customers want to get quick answers and you have to help them out on time.
3. You can move the conversations beyond your DMs when text-only communication is not resolving the issue. You can suggest moving the communication elsewhere.
4. Try to be positive and pleasant just as in regular customer service.
5. Desist from using Twitter DMas your marketing newsletter. Also, do not spam anyone with messages just to grab their attention.
With Twitter, brands can get to know their customers better and the DM feature adds to that experience. By providing a space for private messaging to take place, issues involving payment can be resolved easily. Social media managers should master the art of messaging for their brand. Likewise, marketers across all social platforms should do the same.