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Topic: Social Enterprise

Everything that's wrong with the social enterprise, in a single tweet

Summary: Build stronger connections with customers and employees? Sure. But have mercy.

Andrew Nusca

By for Between the Lines |

charmin-tweet-030413

Before taking your enterprise social, ask yourself:

  1. Who are you trying to talk to, really?
  2. Why are you trying to talk to them?
  3. Will what you're saying make No. 2 in this list more likely to happen?

At first blush, the social media presence for Procter and Gamble's Charmin brand of toilet paper is perfectly in line with its audience: regular people. And the topic, while eye-raising, makes sense -- after all, what else can you talk about?

But then, further scrutiny: will this conversation lead someone to buy Charmin? (Perhaps by being approachable, accessible?)

Is this rather literal approach to the subject in line with the company's more gingerly (that's why they use bears, people) treatment?

Is this the kind of viral you really want?

Topic: Social Enterprise

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Talkback

8 comments
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  • Does Preparation H have a twitter account?

    Seems like the problem that Preparation H helps with would also help people lame enough to tweet to a toilet paper company.
    ammohunt
    Reply Vote

  • Everything that's wrong with the social enterprise, in a single tweet

    We won't have any of that toilet humor on twitter.
    Loverock-Davidson
    Reply Vote

    • Don't worry

      We pooh-pooh at the thought.
      andrew.nusca
      Reply 2 Votes

  • Do we

    Really have to get this anal about that tweet?
    Non-Euclidean
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Regular people?

    "At first blush, the social media presence for Procter and Gamble's Charmin brand of toilet paper is perfectly in line with its audience: regular people."

    Regular people?

    Last I checked, it was mostly the news types. Still not seeing my family or relatives embrace Twitter.
    CobraA1
    Reply Vote

  • ...and therefore it must be true?

    Data, sir, data. According to Pew, 8 percent of online adults in the U.S. use Twitter on a typical day. That was one year ago.

    But that wasn't the point of my statement, actually. I was merely referring to the tone, not the medium.
    andrew.nusca
    Reply Vote

  • Well...

    I guess it has to be asked - how and why a toilet paper driven account has picked up nearly 12k followers and who would really feel the need to re-tweet such a banal message.
    Really, there's better things to do with your time.
    Pachanga-4184c
    Reply Vote

  • Brandbuilding, not sales

    This is aimed at brandbuilding. As you said, normal people, that is why the message had 28 retweets. It is not there to lead to direct sales, but to buid brand recognition. When one of the followers is going to buy toiletpaper again, odds are they might buy this brand, not because of the message, but because of the daily "ordinary" messages that impress the brand.

    We should forget to link social media to direct sales, that is what websites and SEO is for, social media is there for brand building and product awareness
    nicopretorius
    Reply Vote
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