Shared Mobility is one of the hottest trends amongst start-up businesses in recent years. In Madrid alone, there are 18 shared mobility providers ranging from cars and motorcycles to scooters and bikes - you can get just about any transportation vehicles you like.
One key to growing shared mobility businesses is finding a way to directly communicate with the customers, and undoubtedly, Twitter is the main platform to do so. Many companies use Twitter in the traditional sense to promote their offering, talk about new product features, etc. But actually over 50% of all Tweets are customer support messages, that address specific issues or questions. We found out that customers appreciate real time feedback related to traffic conditions, emergencies, new legislations. As these topics are real time and specific, it generates great interactions with customers.
50% of all tweets that we analyzed during this study were messages of customer support.
Using Twitter for customer support is a great channel to address customer issues immediately. Most customers use Twitter to complain about their specific rentals. The public exposure of these quick customer support examples generate great good will for the company brand.
Aside from customer support, Twitter is also great for brand building. Many shared mobility companies also focus on sharing environmental data, communicating the benefits of electric vehicles and talking about traffic restriction. They position themselves as the solution to fight environmental and traffic issues. Associating the brand with sustainability is an effective strategy to create an emotional connection with the customers and reach a bigger audience on Twitter.
Why is it so important for the shared mobility companies to emphasize the social responsibility side of their story? The answer is clear when we look at the wider ecosystem. Many mobility providers follow the government official account ¨Dirección General de Tráfico”. This account tweets constantly to raise awareness of safe and responsible driving behaviour. From the view of the customers, it is an important and relatable topic, and many people retweet this topic. By linking their brand with sustainability, mobility providers could reach a wider audience.
Sustainability is widely promoted by media organisations as well as businesses and governmental institutions.
Sustainability is not just promoted by the government, but also by the media. Looking at the trending topics discussed from mainstream media, we learnt that sustainability, environmental protection, e-mobility are most talked about by the media.
Looking at this case study, this is a great example of how companies, government and media are working through different angles to promote the shared mobility industry. One lesson for any company who wants to establish their presence on Twitter, is to identify the key players in your ecosystem, find out the common themes they all care about, and use it as a way to promote your brand and speak to your customers.
