I’ve got a crush.
Make that... 5 crushes.
As the human behind Kinvey’s social media accounts, I have a keen interest in how other companies represent themselves on the 'net, particularly on Twitter. I am a huge (pronounced without the h, like the old folks do) proponent of allowing personality to shine through a company’s social media presence, with a dollop of humor and perhaps a sprinkling of edginess. There are some companies that do these things very well. I have a big ol’ crush on these companies. Let me count thy ways:
Athenos
I don’t know about you, but when I think of yogurt, “innovative,” “hilarious” or “clever” aren’t exactly the first words that come to mind. But Atheno’s embodiment of an old, sassy Greek woman named Yiayia exemplifies all of these qualities that many brands strive for. Their website features Yiayia front and center as the authority on all things Greek food. And her personality really shines on social media. Athenos’ Twitter handle conveys a stubborn, no-bullshit, wise old woman with no filter in less than 140 characters at a time. Ironically, she’s behind the times and rather clueless about social media. She tweets borderline inappropriate (in the best way) tweets such as:
Make that... 5 crushes.
As the human behind Kinvey’s social media accounts, I have a keen interest in how other companies represent themselves on the 'net, particularly on Twitter. I am a huge (pronounced without the h, like the old folks do) proponent of allowing personality to shine through a company’s social media presence, with a dollop of humor and perhaps a sprinkling of edginess. There are some companies that do these things very well. I have a big ol’ crush on these companies. Let me count thy ways:
Athenos
I don’t know about you, but when I think of yogurt, “innovative,” “hilarious” or “clever” aren’t exactly the first words that come to mind. But Atheno’s embodiment of an old, sassy Greek woman named Yiayia exemplifies all of these qualities that many brands strive for. Their website features Yiayia front and center as the authority on all things Greek food. And her personality really shines on social media. Athenos’ Twitter handle conveys a stubborn, no-bullshit, wise old woman with no filter in less than 140 characters at a time. Ironically, she’s behind the times and rather clueless about social media. She tweets borderline inappropriate (in the best way) tweets such as:
Yiayia truly comes to life on the company’s Youtube page, cleverly dubbed YiaTube. Dozens of videos of this hilarious, old-fashioned Greek woman (and occasionally her trusty goat) entertain the 4,500+ subscribers; some videos have racked up over 1 million videos.
I look forward to seeing more of Yiayia’s grandmotherly gripes and watching the brand’s unique strategy progress. My only concern (and forgive me for being morbid): How long will Yiayia last? I mean, literally? She’s gotta be pushing 80, and all that cheese...
Charmin
Everybody poops. I know that. You know that. Charmin really knows that. And they friggin own it. I just love that they’re not all, “We’re a delicate bathroom tissue that makes butterflies fly out of your rump!” They’re more like, “You just ate a shitload of chilli and you regret it. You’re gonna need us, real bad.” (But with a bit more class and a lot less swears).
I particularly have a soft spot for companies that respond to me on twitter, and Charmin is one of them. I didn’t even tweet about their product specifically - someone mentioned them in a tweet to me as a fun brand to follow on Twitter - and they thanked us for the love.
I look forward to seeing more of Yiayia’s grandmotherly gripes and watching the brand’s unique strategy progress. My only concern (and forgive me for being morbid): How long will Yiayia last? I mean, literally? She’s gotta be pushing 80, and all that cheese...
Charmin
Everybody poops. I know that. You know that. Charmin really knows that. And they friggin own it. I just love that they’re not all, “We’re a delicate bathroom tissue that makes butterflies fly out of your rump!” They’re more like, “You just ate a shitload of chilli and you regret it. You’re gonna need us, real bad.” (But with a bit more class and a lot less swears).
I particularly have a soft spot for companies that respond to me on twitter, and Charmin is one of them. I didn’t even tweet about their product specifically - someone mentioned them in a tweet to me as a fun brand to follow on Twitter - and they thanked us for the love.
Most of their tweets are accompanied by their clever rhyming hashtag, #tweetfromtheseat, a search of which results in some pretty crappy tweets (har-har) from random users. They've done a fantastic job of giving personality to an otherwise drab product.
Lowes
Ask me to hang up a small shelf on my wall, and an hour and many cuts and bruises later, I’ll have accomplished nothing. I don’t know the first thing about home-improvement projects, and that’s one of the reasons I love Lowes’ Twitter account. Rather than tweeting solely about their products, like many B2C brands often do, Lowes offers practical life-hacking tips for accomplishing home-improvement projects, accompanied with videos and photos. And the best thing is that the tips don’t blatantly sell their products - they are generally useful, and typically can be achieved using everyday items that most people already own. Here is one great tip that I will certainly use next time I paint!
I love that they invite followers to converse with them rather than simply broadcasting news or tips with the hope of some interaction. Here’s one example where they encourage followers to share photos of their holiday decorations:
Lowes
Ask me to hang up a small shelf on my wall, and an hour and many cuts and bruises later, I’ll have accomplished nothing. I don’t know the first thing about home-improvement projects, and that’s one of the reasons I love Lowes’ Twitter account. Rather than tweeting solely about their products, like many B2C brands often do, Lowes offers practical life-hacking tips for accomplishing home-improvement projects, accompanied with videos and photos. And the best thing is that the tips don’t blatantly sell their products - they are generally useful, and typically can be achieved using everyday items that most people already own. Here is one great tip that I will certainly use next time I paint!
I love that they invite followers to converse with them rather than simply broadcasting news or tips with the hope of some interaction. Here’s one example where they encourage followers to share photos of their holiday decorations:
Lowes clearly gets what their customers need -- helpful information for home projects, not just products.
Allstate’s “Mayhem” character
You’ve seen the TV commercials featuring Allstate’s reckless “Mayhem” man wreak havoc on basically every situation you can imagine. Well, the brand has taken the campaign a step further and has continued to personify the character by granting him his very own Twitter handle. What I love most about this Twitter account are the Vine videos he posts on a regular basis - little snippets of his crass humor in video form. Unlike Allstate’s commercials, these videos are bite-sized and don’t mention Allstate at all. In fact, nowhere is Allstate mentioned in Mayhem’s tweets aside from a link in his bio.
In September, Mayhem tweeted *literally* 477 facts about whales in one day just to see if Twitter would show the Fail Whale error page. He frequently replies to random people who tweet with the hashtag “#fail,” apologizing for being the reason for their troubles. He creates various hashtags based on events or other topics - like #TrickorMayhem on Halloween, where he encouraged followers to “trick or treat” at the worst house on the block:
Allstate’s “Mayhem” character
You’ve seen the TV commercials featuring Allstate’s reckless “Mayhem” man wreak havoc on basically every situation you can imagine. Well, the brand has taken the campaign a step further and has continued to personify the character by granting him his very own Twitter handle. What I love most about this Twitter account are the Vine videos he posts on a regular basis - little snippets of his crass humor in video form. Unlike Allstate’s commercials, these videos are bite-sized and don’t mention Allstate at all. In fact, nowhere is Allstate mentioned in Mayhem’s tweets aside from a link in his bio.
In September, Mayhem tweeted *literally* 477 facts about whales in one day just to see if Twitter would show the Fail Whale error page. He frequently replies to random people who tweet with the hashtag “#fail,” apologizing for being the reason for their troubles. He creates various hashtags based on events or other topics - like #TrickorMayhem on Halloween, where he encouraged followers to “trick or treat” at the worst house on the block:
Allstate has done a fantastic job of hilariously bringing to life what started out as a character in a campaign, giving him a personality beyond that of the brand. In fact, Mayhem is more popular than Allstate itself in the Twitterverse - he has about 10,000 more followers than Allstate.
Denny’s
I love a good pun. I love clever and timely cultural references. And to my delight, so does Denny’s, at least on Twitter. They recently live-tweeted during SNL (the Jimmy Fallon episode), mentioning actors in the show as they appeared accompanied with photos of them eating breakfast at some point in their lives. See here:
Denny’s
I love a good pun. I love clever and timely cultural references. And to my delight, so does Denny’s, at least on Twitter. They recently live-tweeted during SNL (the Jimmy Fallon episode), mentioning actors in the show as they appeared accompanied with photos of them eating breakfast at some point in their lives. See here:
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Their account really shows the human behind the brand - their tone is casual, witty, and normal, if you will - I mean, they say “lol” in their tweets! Denny’s is excellent at engaging with their community; they frequently retweet followers, tweet photos of people at Denny’s that were posted on other social sites (like Tumblr), and even jump into random conversations that have nothing to do with them. My favorite Denny’s tweets are hilarious designs of punny movie posters - like “Dine Hard:”
I could probably get lost reading Denny’s tweets for hours, they’re that good. And they do a marvelous job of making me crave bacon, pancakes and eggs, which is the ultimate goal. Bravo, Denny’s.
What are some of your favorite brands on Twitter? For you community managers out there, how do you help make your brand stand out on Twitter? I'd love to know in the comments!
What are some of your favorite brands on Twitter? For you community managers out there, how do you help make your brand stand out on Twitter? I'd love to know in the comments!
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