Safaricom on Twitter

Safaricom has taken the bold step of opening Facebook and Twitter accounts. This is a great way to connect with their customers and investors. This article reviews the twitter account and proposes improvements that Safaricom needs to make to succeed in this initiative.

Queries = Great Feedback

Safaricom will no doubt be inundated by queries on service issues and will have to find a way to respond and manage this in the public domain. The great benefit to Safaricom is that they will receive unfiltered feedback on the services they offer in real time.

Better Definition

To be successful on twitter Safaricom need to better define why the twitter account exists. They need a better bio than "Safaricom is a leading provider of converged communication solutions in Kenya."

My current mobile phone provider AT&T, whose customers in the USA love to hate with as much passion as Kenyans do Safaricom, and Safaricom's mom Vodafone clearly define what their twitter accounts are for.

• ATTNews - "Your official Twitter source for ATT news and announcements."
• attcustomercare - "Hi, I’m Molly, and I lead the AT&T Customer Care team focusing on Social Media. I’ve been with the company for 15 years. My second job is wife and mom to two."
• Shareatt - "Official Twitter source for AT&T announcements, product updates, sponsorship news & more."
• VodafoneUK - "Welcome to Vodafone UK’s official twitter account. Here, you can get the latest product news, find out what we’ve been up to and what we’re planning."
• Vodafone_Group - "News and updates from Vodafone Group."

Multiple Twitter Accounts

AT&T and Vodafone have more than one twitter account. Customer queries raised in the news and information twitter account are redirected to the customer care account.

Personalization

Using different methods both companies provide the first names and photos of the key customer service staff. A personal touch is a great way to reframe the engagement with frustrated or angry customers.

Vodafone provides the names and photos of the three people in the Vodafone Web Relations team on the twitter page on the left hand side. AT&T presents the customer care twitter account as though it is the personal account of Molly who leads the customer care team in the Eastern USA. Other customer care agents are listed on the left hand side of the page.

It is great that Safaricom are on twitter. This is a great way to stay in touch with their customers and investors. They however need to better define the twitter account and personalize it.