Sales & PR blunder: how Habitat UK lost its way on Twitter
As many readers will know, Morgan PR have been on something of a whirlwind tour recently, preaching the benefit of Organic PR and social media to the many networking groups that are ready to hear it.
You will see plenty of mentions on Twitter on this site, with Morgan PR being Twitter advocates and now tweeting out to around 5,000 tweeple here in Newbury, West Berkshire and around the world - and that number grows daily. One of our tenants has always been to follow that ubiquitous ‘80: 20’ rule on Twitter. Specifically, being 80% entertaining and educational tweets to a maximum of 20% more promotional orientated ones.
This fits in with Seth Godin’s permission marketing theory and also is very much common sense; Twitter is about relationships and networks: you wouldn’t walk up to someone in a networking meeting and say , “ hello, would you like to buy my product?” Well, you may but how popular would that make you?! Posting tweets at least three times a day, retweeting and replying will build your following and are all part of good twetiquette. As is unfollowing those who stray from the path.
Twitter is about relationship marketing, and representing brand values through your communication. So, how did the usually well regarded Habitat UK manage to get so lost and get it so absolutely, stunningly wrong? Read this brilliant blog post by Tiphereth Gloria on how they completely messed up.
In it Tiphereth Gloria, an Australian social media consultant meticulously analyses what they did wrong and just how badly they have damaged their brand. It also points out the well-known but oft-forgotten fact that what is placed on the internet is then very hard to delete and can linger on for a long time after it would have been wished vanished.
Her analysis of what they could have done instead is spot on and very much how we would advise a client trying to crisis manage. The fact that Habitat did not take the opportunity to right the wrongs that they have inadvertently and clumsily committed is a very wasted opportunity and merrily compounds its gross error in social media marketing judgement.
For companies who are thinking of dipping a brave toe into the shark infested waters of social media, the best place to start may be to come on one of our Twitter Workshops, where you can learn how to tweet people right from the very start.We are finalising dates on our next courses and you can register your interest in taking part on our website here.
Of course, don’t take our word for it! You can read testimonials from the first course alumni here. It may just stop you making a very costly mistake, which as we’ve seen; even the big boys sometimes manage to do.