Don't poke the bird

Twitter can be a great way to communicate your message to an audience, but it can also be a dangerous place. One angry tweet and you may anger any number of your audience causing a chain reaction that will land you in hot water. A good example of this is Redner Group’s reaction to a negative review of one of their client’s products.

Reviews for the game were scathing. Some called it “embarrassingly bad” and others “a festering irrelevance.” In a moment of anger publicist Jim Redner responded with the following tweet:

“Too many went too far with their reviews...we are reviewing who gets games next time and who doesn't based on today's venom. Bad scores are fine. Venom filled reviews...that's completely different."

In 140 characters or less, Redner caused a massive outcry from the journalist community. Twitter lit up with cries about censorship and attempts to control the media with threats of black listing. Redner later apologized in an email, but it was too little too late and the Redner Group was fired by 2K Games.

But twitter can also be a great place to make good with your audience. Peter Shankman — founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique Social Media, Marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City — this summer had an interesting experience with Morton’s Steakhouse. Before boarding a flight in Tampa to return to his New York home Shankman tweeted:

“Hey @Mortons - can you meet me at newark airport with a porterhouse when I land in two hours? K, thanks. :)”

Though Shankman was joking, but when he arrived at Newark Airport he was surprised to find that Morton’s had arranged for Alex, from Morton’s Hackensack, to deliver a 24oz Potterhouse Steak with all the fixin’s. The full story is worth a read.

Shankman’s story shows how through Twitter a company can successfully communicate with it’s audience and generate good word of mouth. The story of Morton’s impressive customer service spread around the Twitter-verse and Facebook.

Lessons that can be learned from these two examples are simple. Pay attention to what your audience was saying if it’s good you can re-enforce it by providing positive feedback. It’s doesn’t always have to end with giving something away but maybe just a simple acknowledgement and a thank you. If it’s negative, don’t poke the bear and stay calm. Put down your phone, step away from the computer and go take a walk while you think about your next move.

Do you have any good or bad twitter experiences?