Member News: Business meltdown could be just a tweet away
Article Date: 28th Nov 2009
It took all of three and a half seconds for the online marketing world to switch on to the Twitter phenomenon; far less time-consuming than MySpace, far better tailored to business models than Facebook. Ultimately Twitter provides companies with a quick and dirty marketing technique that acts as the perfect megaphone, interacting with, rather than shouting at the audience.
However, there is no need for a Twitter marketing campaign to ever look quick or dirty. Twitter is the perfect tool for very sleek and very cost effective social media promotion: But only when executed properly.
Home furnishing store Habitat recently caused tensions after the company included popular keywords within Twitter posts in order to drive web traffic to its adverts for special offers.
The campaign took place around the time of the controversial Iranian elections. Many users were utilising the service in order to obtain first-hand information on the events from Twitter users within Iran and were hugely offended to find that searches for terms such as “Mousavi” and “Iran” were directing them to Habitat’s posts. One such post read:
HabitatUK: #MOUSAVI Join the database for free to win a £1,000 gift card.
The scandal has been hugely detrimental to the Habitat brand and a vast consumer backlash has inevitably followed. Customers have lost faith in the integrity of the company and the judgement of its staff. Habitat maintains that the marketing tactic was in no way sanctioned by the company, though its spokesman refused to comment on whether it’s social media marketing was being handled by an outside agency.
The worst thing you can do to an online marketing client is get your facts wrong. Social media marketing has such far-reaching implications. Every seemingly tiny interaction has a snowball effect which can in some cases irrevocably damage a client’s business and reputation. Knowing when to talk and when not to talk is key, as is making sure you know what your client would like to keep confidential and then actually keeping it confidential! What can seem like a short and harmless post or comment could, in fact, completely misrepresent a client’s business ethos or services which could result in lost revenue or the alienation of the company’s existing customer base.
It is also important to consider whether any of the marketing material you intend to publicly distribute online could be construed in the minds of right thinking people as defamatory.
While you’re ensuring that nothing you make publicly available online defames your client, you need to also make sure that you’re not defaming the client’s competitors or anyone else for that matter. Mistakes like this will reflect incredibly badly on your client who will not be very happy with you and is unlikely to ever use your marketing services again. The client could also potentially be in a position to sue you for loss of earnings.
Electronics and software giant Apple saw how quickly a false rumour spread online can damage a business when unfounded reports were circulated that the launch of the iPhone was going to be delayed. Millions of pounds were knocked off the company’s share price before a retraction could be published as investors lost faith in Apple’s ability to deliver.
Over the summer, mobile phone network Three sponsored the Australian cricket team. What better way to promote their brand than by teaming up with cricketing legend Adam Gilchrist to provide fans, via Twitter, with real updates from the Ashes written by the man himself? Indeed, it’s an inspired idea- droves of excitable cricket fans enjoying real interaction with one of the sport’s heroes while being fed subliminal messages about the power of Three.
If only the campaign’s execution had been as good as its inception. In total, the @Gillyashes Twitter posts amounted to a string of thinly-veiled advertising by Three with no real interaction with fans from the man himself. Posts flooded in asking for advice and opinion from Gilchrist but went completely unanswered.
This could have been a cult phenomenon, reaching fever pitch as the Ashes drew to a nail-biting close. Instead, the Twitter page managed to attract a measly 286 followers and has now, a mere two months on, been deleted altogether, leaving fans disappointed and Three looking like a bunch of inept spammers.
However, it’s not all bad. One company that has managed to negotiate the Twitter tightrope with panache is online website builder, MoonFruit. As part of its birthday celebrations, MoonFruit encouraged budding Twitterers to include the company’s name in their Twitter posts; the most creative ones bagged their authors a brand new MacBook. The Twitter community rose to t
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