In Focus

8 brand personalities Facebook and Twitter users hate

Social media failures; type 1

Facebook and Twitter have become focal points for marketers who now find themselves diving headfirst into the social marketing waters. Social media is forcing corporate branding to evolve, as brands now create personas, build communities, and develop relationships with people, not just consumers.

Brands are becoming content creators, so much so that the lines between brand and publisher have blurred. However, some social engagement efforts are not as impactful as they could be, as marketers often fall into personality traps. Save yourself and your brand some trouble by avoiding these stereotyped social media personalities when bringing your brand into the conversation.

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The canned responder 

You might be a big brand, but when a user comes to your site with a complaint or a suggestion about customer service in the jewelry department of your store, responding with the same verbiage you used to express your sympathy with someone who had a problem in the shoe department isn't productive. And consumers catch on. Maintaining a social media presence is time consuming. It takes a while to sift through comments and suggestions and replies and posts. However, it's always best to respond as personally as possible -- even if you can't tell them what they want to hear. 

 

Comments

Leslie Cawley
Leslie Cawley April 16, 2010 at 7:59 AM

Kevin, I like your article and I escpecially like the numersous examples of "8 brand personalities" that to be honest, consumers dont' like either. I can point some: the spammer is one that I ignore on a regular basis. Why? They are "too good to be true" as the saying goes and to me they represent scams that just rob the customer of their money and promise nothing in return.
Another example you mentioned was the "press-release" individual who makes no effort to make their idea s original to the customers. Sorry but "new and Improved to me just means you added a few more onces of something or changed the color of the packaging. I can never tell the difference.
The "off-site hustler" is an interesting character. I've seen this person everywhere and they are here on imedia. Just look around at all the links that available to click on and investigate. I'm not saying that they can't be interesting and yes I have been nosy and done just that, but if you expect me or someone to go to another link, make me want to do so. Give me a reason to visit. Spur my curiosity. Come on, you can do it. Just make me, I dare you.

Kevin Barenblat
Kevin Barenblat April 15, 2010 at 11:55 PM

Thank you all for the comments! I agree with Chris and Lara - those make perfect personalities #9 and #10. :-)

Lara Scott
Lara Scott April 13, 2010 at 8:17 PM

An excellent article Kevin. Now if only the people who are committing the offenses read it.
I would like to suggest another one.

The Posterous Thief.
Tweets post links with catchy headlines gathered from their RSS feeds without reference to the original content author or source, making it look like their own post idea or article content. Even uses own name in Posterous byline until you scroll the article and discover the 'real' source. Does the same on Facebook Business Fan Page too.
Sends all in quick succession at the beginning of the day after they have trawled their feeds for their "original content" for the day. Credibility 0%

Sara Fitzpatrick Comito
Sara Fitzpatrick Comito April 13, 2010 at 3:11 PM

A nice reminder of what should really be common sense. But as newspaper man Horace Greeley said, "Common sense is very uncommon." As true for those of us working in media today as it was for those working in media in the 1800s. Human nature strikes again (or, still)!

Brooke Browne
Brooke Browne April 13, 2010 at 3:06 PM

I total agree with Chris! Those typically are media outlets, and once I did call out one newspaper for doing it and they responded and stopped!
The worst part was that all their rapid fire tweets were about murders and death sentences. Really bummed me out every time I looked at Tweetdeck!

Charles Cozzani
Charles Cozzani April 13, 2010 at 1:40 PM

Good points. At least 6 of these sound like what we experience with a popular international coffee brand. Their inability to personalize so they can appeal to everyone is preventing them from connecting with anyone.

Chris Chariton
Chris Chariton April 13, 2010 at 1:34 PM

I'd like to suggest a 9th - the rapid fire tweeter who leaves dozens of posts in succession making me hit the more button to find anything from someone else I am following. Space out your tweets.

Jyothi Kammela
Jyothi Kammela April 13, 2010 at 12:58 AM

Prudent observations which should adequately caution the wanna be social media activists.

Vincent Wright
Vincent Wright April 12, 2010 at 2:35 AM

I also dislike most of the 8 types you list however, I'm curious as to what you are basing your finding on when you say "8 brand personalities Facebook and Twitter users hate"? Did you survey? Or is it personal observation(s)?