Social Media Hot Mess Award
We're not even at the 2009 half-way mark and many folks are already listing the worst social media campaigns - to date.
Jennifer Leggio posted her thoughts about a few social media hot messes at ZDNet . The Skittles campaign caused me the greatest clutch-the-pearls moment (Motrin was another one).
Usually, this type of article drops in December, but as we are all information speed demons, June is the new December.
Back in March, I noticed that Twitter was all, well, aTwitter, about Skittles and pointing folks to www.skittles.com. For background, Skittles ditched their homepage and incorporated pages from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube into their site. My first thought was 'Wow, Skittles has real cahones for doing this.' This was soon followed with 'OK, cute, but where's the strategy?'
Some marketers, social media folks and social PR folks like me were completely fascinated with Skittles' bold approach. Why? Because it was a great buzz-building tool. Heck, most folks have heard of Skittles and have even tasted its fruit-flavored gooeyness. A Web site providing highlights about Skittles is as relevant as a Web site explaining how to wear a Snuggie.
But, as with social media, too many folks spend too much time on too many cute things. If buzz was Skittles' goal, then that goal was accomplished. However, there was a backlash with the promotion. There were many negative comments in Twitterland and water-cooler conversations were less than positive. Some groups use Skittles' promotion as a "worst practice" not a "best practice" when discussing social media campaigns to their clients.
Social media should be less about tools and gadgets and more about obtaining goals and creating the strategy to make things happen.
If we all adhere to this rule, we'll avoid most hot-mess moments.
Well, I'm off and if you'd like to discuss, please visit @Lilyn on Twitter.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.
Leave a Comment