TwttrPoop and what you should already know about social media

I made a vow that I would avoid writing about twitter on this blog until there is actually something new to say.  Well, with the release of TwttrPoop, that day has arrived.

The creation of Josh Shabtai, TwttrPoop is pretty much what is sounds like -- it aggregates all tweets about going #2 and allows you to graph them in comparison to any other terms widely discussed on twitter.  It shouldn't come as a surprise that variations of "going #2" far outweigh most other terms.  Sure -- major topics like Michael Jackson, Iran and, of course, beer receive more tweets than bowel movements do, but most other brands don't fare so well.

Google, Facebook and Apple all receive more tweets than "people talking about pooping", which based on other comparisons, is pretty impressive.  These are three of the top brands in the online/technology space, and it's likely the people tweeting about them are using them at the same time they are on twitter.

When you take this comparison to a few offline brands, the results are very different.

Coke, IBM and Toyota are all included in BusinessWeek's Top Brands of 2008.  And they are all dwarfed on twitter by people taking a poop.  The latest buzz in "social media marketing" -- same deal.  Pooping dominates.

If you do a few of these graphs, it solidifies what you should already know -- twitter is more like texts from last night than a tool about conversing with customers and building brands.  Social media mimics real-life conversations.  And, like real life conversations, there are many topics more interesting to people than your new label or the contest you are running for people who become fans of your Facebook page.

Something often forgotten in marketing with social media: Just because you're interested in talking to your customers, doesn't mean they're interested in hearing from and talking about you.  And when there's nothing you can do about it, step away from tactics and build a reason for people to care about your brand.

Comments

[Aaron Templer]

Love this. When people or clients ask me about social media, I tell them there are a ton of organizations doing it. Precious few are doing it well. Everyone else isn't. Take a step back from tactics -- good advice. You might also say "take a step back and realize social media is a tactic. What strategy is it in service to?"

[adam stewart]

Thanks for the comment, Aaron. Exactly my point with stepping back from tactics. Using social media is only part of your marketing mix. It isn't a campaign in itself, and a lot of the time, it may not even make sense with the way that people people talk about your brand. It seems to be a common misconception that social media is some type of magic bullet, when in reality it works only when applied to an audience and message that fits with it.