Being on Twitter is swell but betting it right is crucial.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you will know that the hottest topic in the world of marketing at the moment is social media. Everyone is talking about it, and many brands are jumping on the bandwagon.
Of these social media sites, the one that is currently receiving the most amount of attention is Twitter. Obama might have been there first, but media and celebrity heavyweights the likes of Oprah Winfrey, CNN, Ashton Kutcher, Larry King and Ellen DeGeneres, among many others, have made Twitter bigger than ever.
This is all good and well. But should your brand jump on the Twitter train?
In April, two employees of Dominos Pizza created a scandal by posting a video of themselves on YouTube doing unthinkable things to a pizza. The video was eventually taken down, but the damage was done. People on Twitter were outraged, and were demanding to know what Dominos was doing about the situation.
To be fair to Dominos, they were addressing the issue. But Dominos’ biggest problem was that they were not on Twitter, and therefore had no idea what people were saying about them. By the time they found out, the story had turned into a PR disaster of momentous proportions for the brand – one that is destined to be included in countless case studies for years to come. The CEO of Dominos had no choice but to put out a video apology – on YouTube. And they quickly opened a Twitter account.
Marketers need to understand the backbone of social media – engagement. Unlike many corporate websites, which are mostly static in nature, social media is a beast that is constantly evolving. You can be in the sphere of social media and continue to broadcast messages as in the past, but you will soon find that there is no one there to listen. People are interested in conversations but not one-way communication.
So, how are brands engaging with their customers and fans? In May, Mark Hoplamazian, CEO of Hyatt Hotels, announced the launch of @HyattConcierge – a 24/7 global concierge service on Twitter. Staffed around the clock by customer service agents around the world, the Twitter account responds to requests and can answer concierge queries in any location where there is a Hyatt Hotel.
What about advertising on social media sites? This depends largely on the site. People are used to ads appearing on Facebook and blogs. But advertisements via a tweet are generally frowned upon. While Twitter itself is searching for a suitable and sustainable business and revenue model, services such as Be-A-Magpie.com and RevTwt.com facilitate advertising on Twitter. But beware. Even Magpie warns on its website: “Join the conversation, don’t try to buy it!”
Starbuck received positive news coverage when it used Twitter to recruit staff as well as fans. However, social media backfired on them when they used the power of Twitter in a recent multi-million dollar campaign. The direct action campaign asked Twitter users to search for advertising posters set up in six major US cities. The challenge was to be the first to post a photo of the finder standing in front of the poster on Twitter, using hash tags created for the campaign.
The problem for Starbucks came when filmmaker and liberal activist Robert Greenwald saw the opportunity to promote his latest documentary. Unfortunately for Starbucks, Greenwald’s film focuses on Starbucks’ unfair labour practices and union policies. He highjacked the campaign by asking people to take photos of themselves in front of Starbucks’ stores with signs criticising the company’s practices. They were then asked to post those photos on Twitter, using the same hash tags used by the Starbucks campaign. Soon, dozens of photographs criticising Starbucks popped up all over Twitter.
The question for marketers is not if they should be on Twitter, but how they can use it to forward the causes of their brands. Every brand is different, and what is right for one brand may not be for another. The key thing to remember in social media is “social”. In-your-face advertisements and blatant self promotion does not sit well with social media users.
Twitter has been described as a huge cocktail party. When you turn up to the party, do not start selling your wares. Soon, you’ll be the person in the corner that everyone is trying to avoid. Build your followers or fans by having conversations with them. Engage them. It’s fine to give them special offers or tell them about any promotions you may have. But only do so when the time is right and in an appropriate way. This is your big opportunity to humanise your brand. You want to make sure you get it right.
A couple of months ago, the English actor Stephen Fry sent out a tweet from his mobile phone saying, “You guys should hop over to Mulu Caves in Sarawak, awesome sightings”. It appears that even if you do live in a cave, you could very well be tweeting away.
By Peter Pek, CEO, Brand Mercatus, Malaysia