Guest post: How @Optus uses Twitter to bring more #YES

Monday, 15 September 2014

Last year, @Optus made a stand. We made a declaration that we’d be different in the marketplace and bring back a little word which allows amazing things to happen.

We made a pledge to Australia to bring more ‘Yes’ (actually, more #YES) into everything we do, and Twitter has been a major part of our journey so far.

As a real-time platform, Aussies use Twitter to give and get a live snapshot of their lives and what matters to them at any given moment. From the good times to the bad, and everything in between, Twitter can be used as a giant megaphone for expressing our feelings, thoughts, passions and emotions.

So knowing all of this, we decided to use Twitter to make a difference and give Australia the feeling of more ‘Yes’!

Everyone has a ‘Yes’ moment. From your team winning the Grand Final, landing the job you’ve always wanted or being surprised with something awesome and unexpected. We just needed to find out what those moments would be and become part of them:

We were questioned as to the wisdom of using #YES. We liked the fact it gave our plan a unique twist which meant the @Optus Twitter team were asking the whole of Australia — not just @Optus customers — what would give them that feeling of ‘Yes’. As the requests came in, we kicked into action.


The aim is simple: to change consumer expectation levels, to surprise, delight and deliver #YES in as many forms as possible.
We’ve also set out to really add value to our Twitter community with the content we publish to enhance their experiences with their smartphone:

For @Optus, being able to tap into the range of creative ways Twitter allows us to distribute our content has seen our ‘Yes’ message develop in interesting ways and has seen our engagement and reach increase significantly.

We’re also able to target our messages to specific passions and interests to make sure our content is seen by the right people at the right time:

All the engagement we get — the Retweets, favourites and comments — are great, but the real value Twitter gives us is letting us be in the moment with customers, even if their day isn’t going exactly to plan.

Our dedicated social response team use Twitter to respond to customers who contact us looking for help and we more often than not we can resolve issues in under an hour and deliver a #YES moment when customers require it most.

And #YES, we’re only just starting and Twitter will be with us for the entire ride!