BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

If you are one of the 60 percent of Twitter users who have deserted their accounts after a month, it' s time to reconsider your participation. The world' s third most popular social networking site has relevance for all consumer companies. Ignoring what is being said about your brand in this space is no longer an option - just ask Domino' s, KFC and AT&T.

Right now customers, vendors, employees and the media are discussing your brand. Following their comments on Twitter is no different than reading the mainstream media to gauge public opinion. In fact, Twitter offers one key advantage over mainstream media: its platform serves as an early warning system.

The Wall Street Journal lists real-time opinion aggregation as the number one reason Twitter holds corporate significance. Why does this matter? Twitter' s real time commentary tips smart companies off to the next potential crisis, giving them time to prepare.

Whether you are ready to actively engage consumers doesn' t have to be decided on the spot, but an online listening campaign shouldn' t be up for debate. Taking the steps now to tune into the discourse already underway about your brand or organization or public policy initiative is not only a critical first step to engaging the online space, it is a decidedly easy and low tech one nearly any communications professional can manage.

First, establish a corporate account and begin to identify users who already discuss your brand by searching the site. Second, start "following" these users so their updates appear in your Twitter stream. And third, use a service similar to Google news alerts, like TweetBeep, to receive notifications when your brand is mentioned.

Being prepared is half the battle. Launching a Twitter account will ensure you are ready to respond when, not if, a crisis strikes.

Dallas Lawrence is Vice President of Digital Media at Levick Strategic Communications and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog.