Don’t Tweet That! 10 tweets that will get you into hot water...

Leading on from my last blogs look at the Nestle Facebook disaster, I thought I’d follow up with a few words about one of its biggest rivals, the mighty Twitter.

Time and time again people have posted things to their corporate Twitter feed that has really blown up in their face and surprisingly, the big corporate machines have been just as guilty of this as the rest of us. So I've rustled up a few tips to help you stop your tweets turning into 140 character time bombs that explode into twittersphere.

In all honesty, I look at Twitter in the same way that I look at other sources of written communication - books, blogs, magazines, websites, social networking - they all have a purpose and can be used effectively but each presents it's own dangers as well. This is a huge challenge for companies.

Don’t get me wrong, Twitter can definitely add value to any business that uses it well. It is a great way to reinforce your brand, share news and important information, gather feedback, advertise and most importantly, start a dialogue with your customers and prospects – and the only cost is the time of the people involved with managing your Twitter account.

But it's surprising just how many organisations don’t use them effectively and there are some who don’t even seem to think before they tweet. Surely, before you’re going to say something publicly that will reflect on your company or brand, you should take just a split second to think about what you’re posting? I know the first thing that pops into my head isn’t always something that I’d want to broadcast!

Here’s a little list I pulled together for corporate tweeters:

The Definitely Do Not Tweet List!

1. Don’t just use twitter as an advertising medium – it doesn’t work that way. Twitter is designed for relationship building. The most successful corporate accounts provide insights and value to the general listener.

2. Don’t complain about your colleagues or clients on Twitter. If they don’t read it someone else will tell them about it, trust me, it will get back to them!

3. Don’t get defensive about negative criticism of your company or it’s services, use the opportunity to show those listening that you care about what they think and try to resolve any issues they have.

4. Don’t post about any confidential company affairs or finances. This can get your company in a lot of trouble and will almost definitely leave you without a job.

5. Don’t publicise any private issues or jeopardise the company’s working relationships.

6. Don't #hashtag every topic. After a while, your topics will just be ignored and you will be un-followed.

7. Don't tweet about any issues you have with a co - worker or your employer or anyone else for that matter – try talking to them about it! This just makes both you and your company look really unprofessional (not to mention a tad passive aggressive!) not such a good look.

8. Don't tweet your eating habits. Seriously. Just don't do it.

9. Don’t think having an anonymous account or user profile makes any of the above okay.

And Finally...

10. Don't use completely unrelated hot topics or events solely as a PR opportunity to further your own name and social media rank and position, people will see straight through it.

To illustrate this last point, I leave you with this example, posted by the official Google Maps API twitter account, just after the news broke about the death of the ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson. It's a pretty insensitive attempt to use some completely unrelated news to attract people to their website, which they have since deleted:

Top Tweets of the Twitter #lists Meme

The #lists hashtag is currently trending on Twitter about to-do lists with a twist.

For those of you not yet in the know, the basis of the Tweet is confirming your completion of a task (hence the “to-do”) and ending by rhyming “to-do” with anything you can think of.

So, in no particular order, let’s have a look at some of the best ones so far:

@bluno Just played a prank on a Ranger Smith in Jellystone Park, so I can cross that off my Yogi Bear & Boo Boo list #lists

@M1N10N On a plane, eating the chicken meal and it made me violently sick over the pilot ;( Thats one more off my flew-chew-spew-on-crew list #lists

@bethanee_c Just finished recording a duet with Take That so I can cross that off my Lulu list. #lists

@philmscribe: Nodded in affirmation to some solid, unarguable fact. Can cross that off my Too True List #lists

@LudditeWebDev That's me done the red square on the board, but not the green, yellow or blue squares. One crossed off my Ludo list. #lists

@thomasblythe Just told an old woman with more kids than she knows what to do with, what to do, crossing that of my living-in-a-shoe list #lists

@njhamer Just said hello to Pete Townshend and talked about my generation. So I can cross that off my The Who list #lists

@FilthyLurker just rendezvoused with Sean Connery on a russian sub, so I can cross that off my buckaroo list. #lists

@mr_craig Learned the difference between a drag queen and an electropop duo. Can cross that off my La Rue/La Roux list. #lists

@stooopot Made a kite from garden canes, Fed the panda, constructed a small beach hut. That's my Bamboo list sorted. #lists

@daveyp I've just met a minor character from Blackadder. I can cross that off my Le Comte de Frou Frou list #lists

@steelcatDelivered the scripted line before David Tennant's first line in this scene, so I can cross that off my cue Who list. #lists

@ManoDestra Went to the Highlands, chased some haggis, tossed the kaiber and did a bit of a fling. That's one off my Och Aye Tha Noo list. #lists

@lesleyhoss Just learnt to pronounce silent consonants, so I can cross that off my gnu list #lists

And our favourite so far:

@bluno Just returned my dead parrot to the pet store, so I can cross that off my Norwegian Blue list #lists

We'll update with new ones, but in the meantime, have we missed any blinders? Add your favourites in the comments below.