Brands with human voices on twitter

A twitter conversation between Tesco Mobile and a customer last week is the perfect illustration of how Twitter is an ideal platform for brands to take on a personality, a voice, and a specific target (Check link for conversation: http://www.buzzfeed.com/scottybryan/this-is-the-best-twitter-conversation-you-will). Throughout the interaction, Tesco Mobile’s twitter takes on a ‘human’ voice, making pop culture references and even asking for tea time to rest its ‘feet’.  This leads to other brands, such as Yorkshire Tea, to join the twitter conversation. The result is not only hilarious, it is also very telling: to connect with audiences, brands, whether mobile operators or cupcakeries, need to create a specific voice and showcase strong brand identity online in the space of 140 characters Twitter affords.  Twitter users who engage with brands expect not only prompt and informative replies, but also ones that are expressed in the ‘voice’ of the brand. If, for instance, the brand is ‘witty’, tweets need to reflect that.

“I'm your well-placed fashion source bringing you behind-the-scenes scoop from inside Donna Karan New York & DKNY and my life as a PR girl living in NYC.” reads the bio of one of the more established brands, DKNY.  In fact, DKNY has chosen to totally personify its twitter, to give an actual human voice to its brand, by choosing that of Aliza Licht. This makes perfect sense for a young fashionista with insider information and access to take on the voice of a brand that wants to provide high-end fashion to its customers. More brands should consider a similar approach in an effort to humanize their twitter accounts.