Habitat, the thinking man’s Ikea, was at the receiving end of a minor twitter backlash this week. They created a Twitter account a few weeks ago and began Tweeting their offers.
After a few tweets, for some misguided reason they thought that putting popular trending hashtags at the beginning of their tweet would be a good idea. This is usually done by spammers so that people searching for a popular keyword such as iphone will see their message. And so, Habitat began sending out identical tweets with hashtags such as #Apple and #iPhone at the beginning. From the looks of it, this carried on for about 8 Tweets.
Yes, it was misguided, yes it was a mistake, but it does not have to be a big marketing disaster. It is certainly not up there with Motrin or Dominos disasters.
Habitat most probably gave their account to someone who knew very little about how Twitter works. I can’t imagine the decision to spam on an Iranian election hashtag was made by anyone particularly high up or with an ounce of sense at the company.
So what has gone wrong here and how can it be fixed?
Habitat have already pulled the offending tweets. Someone has obviously realised their (or someone elses) mistake and got rid of them. This is a start, and although bloggers are noting they can still be found in Twitter Search’s cache, they’re down on page 15 where no one is going to see them.
Habitat also appear to have thrown their hands up in the air and admitted their mistake stating “it is important to us that we always listen, take on board observations and welcome constructive criticism… We will do our utmost to ensure any mistakes are never repeated.”
I think this is the best thing they can do. Everyone makes mistakes in social media, as with anything, it is the only way we can learn and progress. It also goes to show the importance of strategising your social media apporach, as it can go so easily wrong.
There are endless blogs out there that advise on how best to use Twitter but I thought I’d add my two cents:
1. It is essential that a company gives an official Twitter account to someone that is already familiar with and using the service. This would not have happened if a seasoned Twitter user, that knows the etiquette had been given control of the account.
2. Engagement is more important than broadcasting offers. Twitter should be a customer support and engagement tool first and a marketing device second.
3. Give your Twitter followers something extra. No one wants to hear offers being constantly repeated that they can read about on the brand’s website in the first place.
4. Clearly define what you want to achieve with your Twitter account. Is Twitter the right tool for your brand? Jumping on the bandwagon is not the reason for beginning to use Twitter. Can you add something extra for your cutomers by using Twitter.
Related posts:
- Reporting on Mumbai: Twitter and social media leading the way
- Social media in 2010
- Big changes coming to Twitter Search
- Social media, ROI and the importance of influence
