We’ve been blogging a lot about Twitter because we’re pretty fascinated by its ability to connect so many people, and its potential to spot trends. Our clients have been asking us a lot about it. Plus, Eric, our CEO, got bit by the Twitter bug recently, so we’ve all been talking about the Twitterverse with him.

We’re interested in whether companies can find any real value (“return on investment,” if you must) to using Twitter. Some industries have adopted it more than others, particularly those that are customer-facing. For example, airlines, at least those in the United States, seem to be jumping on the Twitter bandwagon since it’s a low-cost way to reach out to a sometimes loyal (and sometimes disgruntled) audience. American Airlines tweets travel tips and deals on @AAirwaves, @SouthwestAir is the granddaddy of them all; and @UnitedAirlines, @DeltaAirLines and the other legacy carriers have robust followings. And I’ve personally had good Twitter experiences with @VirginAmerica, who even direct-messaged me a few months ago to help me sort out why I wasn’t credited with frequent flier points for a particular flight.

Other organizations, such as the Associated Press, use it as a social reference tool. Want to know what the proper AP Style is for abbreviating Nebraska in a dateline? Just ask using the hash tag #APStyle, and either an AP editor or someone in the Twitterverse will weigh in with an answer. (Gibraltar Associates likes to help out from time to time.)

The investment community, however, has thus far failed to fully embrace social media, and perhaps not surprisingly. A new study (PDF) by Brunswick Group said only 12 percent of institutional investors and sell-side analysts in the United States and Europe thought social media were particularly influential sources of information.

But perhaps Twitter’s real power could come in a crisis. Of course, a company must build a true conversation with its customers before it can attempt to engage them in a crisis — communicate all you want, but someone has to be listening. But it might be a useful tool for disseminating vital information in a crisis, such as whom to call for health and safety information, where to go to learn if you’ve been affected by a recall, how to lodge a complaint — or even to calm fears and quash misinformation.

I was doing some research for a client and came across a case study from B2B social media consultant Ron Ploof. It outlines how Ford Motor Company used Twitter to douse the flames of an impending PR crisis — all within 24 hours.

Ploof’s presentation takes us through Ford’s crisis hour by hour, and gives us three key lessons to take away from Ford’s engagement. It’s a brief presentation, a quick read, but provides some great insights for us practitioners.