Despite being a billionaire, Mike Bloomberg is going to have a hard time buying back the trust of his fellow New Yorkers.

After bumbling the cleanup efforts of what is now being dubbed “The Bloomberg Blizzard,” the Mayor’s half-hearted attempt to apologize for the fiasco that paralyzed the streets of New York left him with a very icy reception from his constituents – literally.

But before we start pointing fingers at the Mayor, I would like to name another culprit that may be partially responsible for this snowstorm-related fiasco: Twitter.

You see, had Bloomberg utilized a social media site like Twitter to his full advantage, it’s quite possible he would have fully understood the magnitude of the blizzard’s effects and stayed in direct contact with his fellow New Yorkers to coordinate the cleanup accordingly – something that’s almost impossible to do while sitting in a posh mansion off Fifth Avenue and sipping Perrier out of a crystal glass.

Which is why Mr. Bloomberg – and all of us looking to better our business strategies for that matter – can learn a thing or two from a neighboring city just a few miles away.

Meet the Twitter-savvy Mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, whose incredible response to the blizzard aftermath practically transformed him into a National hero and seriously helped launch his future political career.

According to an article in the New York Post, Mayor Booker set a new standard for staying in touch with one’s constituents. Unlike Mayor Bloomberg, Mr. Booker invited residents of Newark to get in touch with him personally via Twitter, letting him know what streets hadn’t been plowed and alerting him to potentially dangerous situations.

And most importantly, each message received a personal reply.

“Still has yet to clean my street & I live across from hospital!” read one tweet. Replied Booker: “Sending team immediately back there 2 ensure hospital is clear.”

Mayor Booker cleverly utilized Twitter’s real-time features not only to track streets that still needed plowing, but to also personally show up at the homes of elderly people to help them shovel, push out stuck cars, and deliver supplies such as food and medicine.

Likewise, when it comes to business, it’s important to know what your customers are going through – and Twitter can be an effective way to find out.

Take Chevrolet, for example. They pay a full-time official Twitterer named Adam Denison to connect with customers, resolve misconceptions about the brand, and convince people to give Chevrolet vehicles a test drive. When General Motors took a bailout from the government and received major criticism from the public, Adam used Twitter to help sway public opinion in GM’s favor.

Carnival Cruise Line, the luxury ship vacation company, uses Twitter to smooth over issues and instantly assist customers with problems. When a departing client forgot his suitcase with expensive dress shirts on the deck of a cruise ship, he immediately Twittered Carnival Cruise Line – and received them back in the mail just a short time after.

The fact is Twitter can be used to help solve your customer’s problems, promote valuable interaction with your brand and in situations where nothing can be done to help, at least provide customers with the comfort of knowing somebody at your company will listen to their grievances and actually give a darn.

Of course, you don’t necessarily need Twitter to maintain a constant line of contact with the people you serve.

Take your child’s school, for example. Schools that left voice recordings the night before the blizzard stating that school was canceled will most certainly be more appreciated than the schools that didn’t get around to posting a message until 8:45am the next morning, leaving parents wondering if their child was indeed missing class.

Because the fact is, maintaining an open line of communication isn’t just important – it’s crucial.

Case in point: While the roads of Newark weren’t any more spotless than the streets of New York in the immediate aftermath of the blizzard, the people of Newark were satisfied with their Mayor by being continuously updated on the cleanup progress through his personal Twitter account. They all knew that in due time, their city would be cleaned by a person who actually cared…and who was also able to Tweet about it.

Which is why Cory Booker became a national hero. And not Mike Bloomberg.

Onwards and upwards,

Meny Hoffman.

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