Dell Launches @DellCares on Twitter, Will the Peeps Come?

[This post was trending nicely, and I almost wrote an update as an addendum, but then I hit gold that required a post of its own: Dell Launches @DellCares on Twitter.]

Dell is often presented as the poster child for corporate social media done right. Having worked inside Dell for two of their more tumultuous years, I can tell you there are a lot of innovative people there. And Dell has made a name for itself with the Communities and Conversations team that I did a few projects for while I was with Dell’s Global Online team.

So why do I go back to the Dell well over and over?

Dell is a leader in the use of social media. (And they like to tell everyone about it. And their partner Radian6 (recently aquired by Salesforce.com) likes to tout the huge Dell Listening Center as a best of breed facility. And so the other day, when I was reading about how Dell’s use of Twitter is still SO CUTTING EDGE, I stopped by the Dell/Twitter page to see what was what with the hype. I think the results are pretty typical of Dell and any large corporate entity trying to capitalize on social media.

I’m guessing you’ve heard how Dell’s Factory Outlet Twitter account has sold billions of computers. It’s true. It’s also true that the account is little more than a couponing site broadcasting on Twitter. There’s no real evidence that these customers would not have bought a Dell computer anyway, and perhaps Dell was merely giving away more $$ by couponing discounts. But coupons are a reality for any company in retail these days, so Dell does seem to have been a bit ahead of their time. Twitter revolution, not so much.

For most of the Twitter accounts, like the ones on the top left, everything is as expected.

Lots of urgency, lots of buy now DEALS. This is classic couponing done Dell style. All the accounts on the top left are this variety and most are updated regularly, with newer and better and bigger deals. Deal after deal after deal ending soon so BUY NOW. Do any of these tweets get you excited? Are you feeling the innovation?

Now… Let’s look on the right side of Dell’s twitter system and see how things are going.

• Digital Life – updated April 14th, 12th, 8th etc. @delldigitallife
• Digital Nomads – last updated 10th of June. @digital_nomads [a concept created by my friend Bruce Eric Anderson, and abandoned soon after he left Dell.]
• Edu-4-You – last update March 25th. A total of 1 tweet. @edu4u
• IdeaStorm in Action – last update Jan 23rd, 2010. Uh oh. @IdeaStormAction
• IdeaStorm – once the main innovation source for Dell, last update Dec. 8th, 2010. @IdeaStorm
• InsideIT – Dell’s Twitter voice to IT workers, last update… Uh…

• StudioDell – where the consumer-gadget-video innovation conversations used to take place, (@studiodell) last up date, Nov. 5th, 2009

• DellTechCenter – where the real IT conversations are happening, last update, 10 hours ago @DellTechCenter
• DellHealth – updated 5 hours ago @DellHealth
• PowerSolutions – the Twitter arm of Dell’s Enterprize IT magazine, last updates March 25 and 30, April 7th and 8th. They must’ve just published the hard copy. @PowerSolutions
• DellInsights – Dawn at Dell, an old friend of mine, is Tweeting for PowerSolutions. Um… why isn’t she just enlivening the PowerSolutions account above? Perhaps it’s a cult of personality they are trying to create. Last updates March 25 and 30, April 7th and 8th. Uh… Dawn, are those the exact same dates as the PowerSolutions tweets above? Um… Let’s look at the tweets for a second. @DellInsights

And here are the tweets from @PowerSolutions.

So, let me get this straight, over a months time, the Dell Enterprize team was able to generate approximately 4 tweets. TOTAL? And then they set up the Dawn at Dell or DellInsights account and duplicated the same tweets? Srsly? Um… I’m confused. And you will notice the final "insights" tweet no longer sports Dawn’s picture and it’s no longer styled Dawn at Dell. Uh Dawn, buzz me…

So what’s happened? Why is Dell still sporting so many unactive or even dead Twitter accounts? What does this show about Dell’s belief in the value of Twitter?

Of course there are these three folks…

Great tweeps to be sure.

But how does twitterverse provide value at Dell? How does someone like Dawn at Dell, begin tweeting as Dell employee #20,001, and then go silent so quickly?

Only One Twitter Idea has proven profitable ad Dell: couponing via twitter. Or Twitter as an RSS feed of buy now slogans.

Sure the couponing is hugely successful. And I’m damn glad they are listening: I smile at the idea that Richard and Lionel are going to have their virtual discussion boards light up like a Christmas tree when the Radian6 listening center picks up on this post. And heck (M Dell often sends off midnight messages to the high execs with website problems) maybe even Michael himself will catch a drift of this post and have somebody inside take down the dead accounts and update the ones they intend to support.

So Dell is massive and powerful. And Dell embraced Twitter and Facebook before most companies had heard of them. But when Dell let’s go of some uber-social employee they don’t always go back and follow up with the social media part of that person’s roles and responsibilities. And social media is only relevant at Dell if it impacts Dell’s sales numbers on a consistently positive trajectory.

So often the social innovations get buried under a call for "more coupons." And, "bigger buy now buttons." And more "urgent deal messages." Day after day after day. And if a cool person like Dawn gets swallowed up by her daily todo list and can no longer tweet on a weekly basis, well… I am asking, "IS Dell really innovating and leading in social media?"

NOTE: Check out the follower numbers on some of those twitter accounts too. That will show how these projects lost their internal champions at Dell.

@jmacofearth

permalink: https://uber.la/2011/04/dell_on_twitter/

Here are a few of the 30 or so posts I’ve written on Dell since I left. (In fact most of the others are now hidden, the social media term for retracted. Back in those days, I was burning like a fool with my insights and rage and frustration because I wanted Dell to do better. Even without my help, I was horrified to see where Dell was falling short of full integrity.) But these four posts sort of outline my history with Dell quite accurately.

• Sustainability and Social Media: A Year Later at #SXSW Dell≠Green? (updated 4-20-10)
• Dell’s Vostro 3000 Series – Simplifies the Mix – WELL DONE DELL!
• A Long Dry DELL Season – Dell Brand Slam, Why So Many Many Choices?
• dell sweet dell – a 12+ year history of "electronic commerce"

Also see all I’ve had to say about Twitter on the Twitter Way tab.

 

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