Posted by Jen Johnston
I want to offer you some advice about what not to tweet. My message is simple: If you are a brand, do not tweet the exact same message day after day for four years.
Yes, I actually know of a CPG brand that has been doing this since at least 2009. They are a smaller brand in the HBW space. Their approach to Twitter is to first search out consumers tweeting about the particular condition their product addresses. That is the part I actually agree with – a little sleuthing on the part of the brand is good.
Twitter is unique because you can eavesdrop on people’s conversations and jump in the conversation as appropriate. Did you catch that? As appropriate. It’s this next part that gets dicey. For the CPG brand I mentioned, every single Twitter post is the same. They go like this:
@SomeTwitterUser Here is a somewhat adequate reason to check out our brand. www.OurURL.com
Why would anyone follow a brand on Twitter if they post the very same message nearly every day for four years? To me it is common sense – they won’t! I guess I am not surprised that they only have 20 followers.
The thing about this brand is that it is in a category where consumers are seeking information far beyond the particular condition the product addresses. There is so much opportunity to share relevant, timely content – for this brand to truly be a resource for the demographic it serves. There is so much opportunity to engage consumers in real conversation.
Yet the brand continues to tweet the same tired post year after year. Not only is it ineffective, it is downright spammy.
Please don’t make the same mistake. You need a strategy behind your social media efforts. Determine your goals. Share relevant content. Participate in conversations. Grow your followers. Offer incentives. Partner with others. Rinse and repeat.