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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
I follow a lot of brands on twitter. I like to see how each one utilizes the service. As I was cleaning my following list this weekend, I checked on several of them. More than a few have fallen to the wayside. Time and again, we’ve heard, “it’s worse for a brand to start and stop something than it is for them to never begin.”
Well, what about twitter?
Here’s just a handful of brands that started, engaged heavily and stopped the conversation as soon as their short term goal(s) was achieved:
- Pepsi via @PepSuber. I even DM’d several times with the persona behind this one. He told me it was more work than he envisioned and wasn’t sure if he’d continue. Looking back, he stopped shortly after their Superbowl commercials. Same deal with the majority of Sobe personas (i.e. @SobeChris and @SobeRami). In fairness, @SobeWorld still tweets.
- @MotrinMoms and @FakeMotrin. Yep, as soon as the Motrin Mom crisis died down they stopped. Basically, they tweeted for one day. @FakeMotrin’s last tweet even eludes to that fact – crisis over, time to peace out.
- @Campaigns2008, @barackobama and any other account having to do with the election. Don’t you feel used?
- @NewCastle. Not only have they stopped tweeting, but they set their account to private. I DM’d with them too. I have a feeling they never looked into the legal implications before starting
- @Whoppervirgins and @theBKLounge. These two actually had quite the interesting stream. @theBKLounge even sent a Cease and Desist via a tweet to @Whoppervirgins. After the initial campaign launch they’ve stopped.
- @MsProvocateur. This one makes me sad. I enjoyed the blog and the tweet stream. At least she told us she would no longer be tweeting or blogging.
And many more. Sad, huh? My comment about it on twitter got a few retweets, but I think most people missed my point. My point wasn’t about brands not participating, it was about this:
- If brands are going to participate socially, they need to think of it as a long term strategy.
- Participating requires a lot of work. People demand immediacy and attack if not provided with it. I think brands enter without realizing how much attention is really needed.
- Social media, as of yet, rarely provides the short term ROI brands want/need. If you’re Direct Response focused, send an eblast
And food for thought… does jumping into twitter for the short term (i.e. for a Superbowl campaign, for crisis, etc.) do more harm than good? Does it matter? Do short term tweeters get enough traction to even make an impact?
Posted in Interactive Media, Social Media
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