Lynda Partner’s Marketing Morceaux

On May 19th when I tried to access Twitter from my new laptop I realized that I had forgotten my password. Luckily I was able to use my old computer where I was still logged on. I realized then that requesting a new password meant having it sent by email, and in my case it was going to an email address that had been canceled. So, as I was still logged on to Twitter, I decided to change my email address – and discovered that you need your password to change your email address! I was stuck in the proverbial loop. A request (ok, make that 7 requests) to Twitter support asking them to send my new password to my new email address went answered. I was eventually able to re-opened my closed email account and retrieve my new twitter password but it really got me wondering if Twitter is ready for business to use as an integral part of their marketing mix.

Things got even worse 11 days later when Twitter support finally got around to sending me an email (luckily to my new email address!) that included a new password and that I should log in and reset it. Predictably the password didn’t work and I got a message saying that my account had been temporarily disabled because of too many attempts to access it even after one attempt. After using up my entire swear word vocabulary in a 5 minute rant, I finally calmed down, used the “forgot my password” feature and had a new password sent along. Of course, had I not sorted out my first problem with a dead email address on file, I’d still Twitterless almost 2 weeks later.

Consistency and reliability are key components of any marketing campaign, yet to have your Twitter voice suddenly silenced without warning, to suddenly stop answering those who tweet you is sending a message you don’t want sent. Your followers may interpret this inactivity as being unreliable or non-responsive, certainly not the brand positioning you’ve worked hard to establish.

So for those of us who use Twitter as a business tool, not just a plaything, a few interesting lessons come to mind.

1) Make sure the email you have on file is one that you have full and complete control over.

2) Write down your password and keep it safe (yah,yah, I know)

3) Encourage the makers of any great software product to develop a revenue model to keep themselves healthy. I know this might seem all wrong, but healthy companies make better products. I’d happily pay Twitter to take my support call and get me back up and running quickly.

In the meantime, I’m back tweeting again and happy to be here, even if my feathers are a bit ruffled.