The Impersonal Peril of the Scheduled Tweet

The dawn of programs such as Hootsuite and TweetDeck have been a blessing to social media managers. Supervising and controlling several company accounts can prove challenging when you have a presence on multiple social media outlet. But the thing is – the certain features of these operating systems that we love so much can be brand killers. Come along and let’s talk.

Automated Direct Messages

Yes, we can agree that personally thanking someone for following you on Twitter is a polite gesture. But guess what, consumers know it isn’t genuine when they receive a general statement in the DM Inbox within seconds of the follow. As a ‘victim’ of this annoying occurrence, my first impression is that none of their tweets will be personal or direct, just a broad self-promoting callout. Meh, I will most likely pass. Businesses big and small need to rethink this action. People on social media, Twitter especially, are looking for conversation – and you’re not delivering.

Not Monitoring your Scheduled Tweets

Listen. No one cares about what promotion you have going on when significant national and local event is occurring and it’s all everyone is talking about. This is more challenging for national companies, and I usually let those slide because they can’t necessarily relate to substantial local events. But when a tornado is ripping through Lambert International – please don’t try to convince us to ‘come sit on your patio this evening for half priced martinis. Keep an eye out for situations like this and prevent appearing like an oblivious Twitter robot.

Not Responding to @ Tweets

The reason why I am such an advocate of Twitter is due to the power of obtaining instant gratification by means of a reply, especially when it comes to communicating with a business. I’ve had fantastic experiences with companies such as @redbox and @SouthwestAir with near immediate or quick responses to inquiries about policy, status, etc. While I salute companies who exhibit this behavior, I still get tripped up on the ones that take days to do so OR not even at all. Now I have to let you know that the ones I’m referring to are smaller, local companies. I would ask a question, eliciting a response and…nothing. It’s one thing to get to the game, but if you only want to sit on the bench, don’t bother.

The apparent attraction for a business to belly up to the social media bar is the opportunity to converse with their audience, the consumer of their product or service, or in some cases, sway potential consumers. As a company marketing on social media, it is your job to listen first, and then reply. If you’re not replying, you’re already losing.

This Is an Event...

PR pros will tell you to establish your key messages and stick to them as part of media interviews. This is particularly important for unannounced interview requests. Our local FOX affiliate, KTVI, recently aired an interview conducted by their well-known investigative reporter, Elliott Davis, that demonstrated this point. The subject of the interview was St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley, and I have to admit that this man REALLY knows how to stick to a message.

Those who have watched KTVI's You Paid For It segments know that Elliott Davis specializes in unannounced interviews, being prepared to question several angles of an issue and an infinite willingness to be direct. Mr. Dooley, however, managed to control the interview by not allowing Elliott Davis to further probe the topic. In other words, Mr. Dooley stuck to his key messages.

Some may say the county executive was uncooperative. I would say he knew what was coming in terms of the tone of the interview -- the You Paid For It segment is well known -- and was nothing more than prepared to ensure his message was heard. I found myself chuckling after watching Elliott Davis literally drop his head and slump his shoulders after Mr. Dooley repeated his key messages for the third or fourth time.

You may or may not like the style of Elliott Davis, but it is rare that he comes out of an interview without much of a confrontation. This interview is an exception. As Mr. Dooley would say, "This is an event..." Enjoy the footage.

http://www.fox2now.com/videobeta/?watchId=e0c4f92c-cc3c-433f-ba65-5b9245dc42a8?video=YHI&t=a

Arrested for Possession of Poor Branding Grammar

I believe all professions have their pet peeves. Carpenters can spot a crooked wall, house cleaners see the lint in the corner of the room, accountants notice columns that are not right justified, etc. For me, it's spelling and grammar.

I'll also be the first to admit that I make spelling and grammar errors. I hate when it happens and, on some days, it happens more than it should.

But -- with that disclaimer out of the way -- I'm seeing more and more errors when it comes to using an apostrophe. Is this a major, world-shifting crisis? No. Is it annoying beyond belief? Yes, especially when the error is part of a company's brand.

What pushed me over the edge on this thought was a billboard on I-70 in Missouri. It was for a barbecue joint: Two Dude's Bar-B-Que. Because I love barbecue so much, my anal, journalistic mind is willing to overlook the fact that they do not use AP style in spelling the word barbecue. No biggie.

What blows me away, however, is that they've included a punctuation blunder in their name that guarantees everything they create for their brand -- from menus to bibs, ads, billboards and shirts -- includes an error. I'll explain.

Two dudes own this barbecue joint. The word dudes is obviously plural. There are, after all, apparently two dudes involved. The fact that they own the joint makes it possessive. So, we have a plural possessive. The correct use of grammar in this case would be Two Dudes' Bar-B-Que. Just move the apostrophe to be behind the s and you're good to go.

Or, change the name to Two Dude's With Poor Grammar Bar-B-Que. Although somewhat funny, that would be a real son of a gun to fit on a logo.

I have one last apostrophe thingy to get off my chest. When describing a span of time such as a decade or century, please don't use an apostrophe unless the span of time is a possessive. If you're discussing your love for Devo or Belinda Carlisle, it's the music of the 1980s, not the 1980's.

Okay, I feel better now. Carry on.