Those were the days before Facebook or Twitter (though not long before), and times are changing. We’re definitely seeing it in the media world — there’s been much discussion around the office about how to build stronger connections with readers in the digital age. The editors of PL Buyer and its sister publications currently are brainstorming to figure out how to better connect our readers with up-to-date industry news through utilities such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Unfortunately, the use of social media is so new to business media that no one seems to know the exact formula for getting things right. So we’re treading lightly. Retailers seem to be in the same boat — they’re taking one step at a time in learning how to connect with their shoppers through social media utilities, particularly Twitter.

A recent article from The Nielsen Co., New York, offers some excellent ideas on how retailers can build a Twitter page that benefits stores, brands and customers. In the article, Maya Swedowsky, associate research director of Nielsen’s online division, says retailers should look for tweets that discuss the following four topics:

• Customers’ in-store experiences. Twitter is the perfect place to hear and respond to a complaint or a compliment. I’ve seen some retailers respond to consumers’ negative tweets by asking how the shopping experience can be improved, or tweeting back online coupons to get disappointed consumers to come back. The last thing a customer wants after a bad shopping experience is to feel ignored.
  
  
• What shoppers think about your products. I think this is especially important for private label. For example, Trader Joe’s lets its fans tweet 140-word reviews of its store brand products, which can be read on the retailer’s Twitter page. This is powerful stuff — I discovered some of my favorite Trader Joe’s products after reading these reviews.
  
  
• How customers use your store’s Web site. Whether your site offers complete online transaction capability or simply coupons and promotions, customers will have plenty of opinions — good and bad — to tweet about your store’s Web site.
  
  
• Customer response to marketing campaigns. As Swedowsky says, from brand health to community relations to coupons, retailers can check on their customers’ awareness of promotion strategies.