Help! My Groceries Are Tweeting And They’re TERRIBLE!

Like any social media platform, you get out of it what you put into it.  If you turn it on and want to get the benefit, you need to spend time and invest in it. 

I’ve had a similar experience with brands on Facebook.  I wanted to know how to use a new Philadelphia cream cheese product these flavored “creme” things they have,  thinking it might even substitute for harder to find creme fraiche in a few recipes.  

But I couldn’t get anyone to respond to my requests and posts there at all.  Compare that to sending a quick note to the Yonanas folks about misplacing the recipe book, and they sent me back a note, not only how to get one sent to me, but that they were in the process of updating their website to put this information online as well.  That was great problem solving, engagement and listening, all leaving me happier and healthier in the process.

There are still many people who think of social media as another broadcast channel, and don’t see it as more an interactive customer service channel, that will help win fans and influence people, to quote good ol’ Dale Carnegie.  I would have thought after 5 years or so, they might be less apprehensive and understand better.  Part of it may be in fine tuning the local versus national strategies- so many companies are divided up into regions especially for consumer goods, that the different arms don;t do a good job in tailoring messages to a more regional audience and the nuances that go along with it.

So damn true!!!! Great post, Chris! Love, your friends at Latino Rebels.

True Story: I saw a product on TV that I knew I “had to have!” I contacted the company to find out which stores in my area carried their line of products (their website sure didn’t tell me).  Interestingly enough, it was on a weekend and the business owner was checking company emails and emailed me back. I checked the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and not only had they done a horrible job with their social media, but the accounts hadn’t been updated for a year – just like the examples you give here! I emailed the owner back and said, “Have your marketing person get in touch with me and I’ll get you on the right track. In exchange, you can send me a couple of your products!” Today this company is my biggest client (in terms of revenue). You can now go to their website and find a “Store Locator,” their tweets are engaging and not “all about me” and their Facebook page has been a huge success! If you see companies out there who are not doing social media right, contact them! Offer them some free help. I had NO idea or intention for this to happen but…. it did!

Smart Chris Smart. Great post. 

I really enjoyed this article, Chris. Thanks for taking the time to check out your grocery foods’ twitter accounts and share it with us. But seriously, it amazes me when big brands and big companies don’t take the time to fully utilize social media. It really drives home the fact that social media success doesn’t have much to do with company size or big budgets- it can work for anyone with the time and mindset to engage their audience.

Another thought I had while reading the article is, how many of the ‘failed’ accounts employed interns to update their social media accounts for a couple months (for example, a summer internship). I’m not implying that interns can’t do a great job at social media marketing (they definitely can!), but a lot of companies hand off that task to the new hires or the interns and then abandon it when they leave. It’s a shame that social media isn’t always taken seriously- and the failed examples you listed prove it!

Fascinating – thanks for sharing, Chris!

I noticed the terrible use of Twitter for major grocery brands a few months ago when I followed many to see what they were doing and perhaps score some deals. I found the same thing time and again. Abandoned accounts or those that were tweeting were so boring and self promotional I stopped following. You see this a lot on Facebook too. I don’t know what gives but there are missed opportunities all over that sector.

As someone who tweets for brands, I have to share that it can be incredibly challenging striking the right tone. Sometimes we want to provide valuable content (I disagree with your characterization of the recipe tweets above as a bad tweet), but I also agree that it’s important to engage people as well. We have some success engaging with food bloggers who may be fans of the products. We share recipes we know they may enjoy, and try to comment on what they post as well. It’s a customer service tool for us at times. And at the same time, we do let people know about our products and specials occasionally, because we do get traction from those posts as well. It can’t be all of any one kind of a post. 

When I prepare an editorial calendar for a brand, we start with a themed post…a product highlight, content-driven piece, recipe, etc. But we also make sure the brand understands that this is just a starting point. We also plan to engage people and have conversations. Some days are better than others because, as you well know, it takes time to build momentum. Particularly when you’re tweeting as a brand, rather than a person. It’s difficult, but not impossible.

Sometimes brands stop at the promotion though. And that just isn’t effective.

Thanks for another interesting post, Chris.

“We need to be on Twitter. Everyone is doing it. Mable is online all the time answering email, she can post tweets for us, too.” So Mable posts a couple of things and then gets busy and that’s as far as it goes. Happens all the time.

Spam (the mystery meat product) used to post recipes at the top of Gmail pages. I thought that was pretty clever.

Took a look at the posts I do on behalf of our company and I’m happy to say that in comparison to these examples above, I’m doing much better than most (whew). Funny though, I was thinking about how I could approach something on targeting a specific demographic (like what Ragu did) without it being spam and without having to follow the person, then wait for them to follow back and then send them a DM. I’m not into spamming, what do you suggest Mr. Brogan?