Published on March 29th, 2019 | by Bibhuranjan

5 Brands that are Killing It on Twitter (and What to Learn from them)

Brands use Twitter for a bunch of reasons – to promote their awesome products, to distribute their latest content, to talk to their customers, to share industry news.

However, this is usually not enough to stand out.

Customers love brands that have original personalities. They expect brands to answer them fast, listen to them, and provide them with intriguing and exciting user experiences.

Source: Pixabay

So, to break up the monotony of their accounts and build trust with followers, many brands turn to puns, trolls, and even burns. Humor has become an integral part of their campaigns, helping them build a recognizable and memorable online presence.

Want to see what brands are killing it on Twitter? I’ve made a list of 5 examples for you!

Netflix (@netflix)

Who wants to curl up in bed and watch their favorite show on Netflix? I sure do! In the meantime, their hilarious tweets will make your day.

Netflix is one of those brands that are following the “know your audience” marketing rule. And, their Twitter account backs me up on that:

Even though they have 5.46M followers and 26K tweets, they provide impressive customer support. Their answers are natural, charismatic, and witty.
They show they care. A few years ago, their social media marketing team noticed that the growing number of people is complaining about falling asleep and losing their place in the show they were watching. To solve their problem, Netflix created Netflix Socs that detect when a user falls asleep and pause the show.
They’re keeping it fresh. Their recent “brb changing my name to Netflib” status, mocking the recent IHOP (or IHOb) name change fail received 109K retweets and loads of positive comments. Sometimes, being fun and authentic instead of following the rigid branding formats will.

Source: Twitter

They’re building buzz about their shows by sharing awesome memes and GIFs of their best moments. Instead of publishing some random content, they’re using their own posts in their tweets to make them more memorable.

KFC (@kfc)

KFC follows only 5 former members of The Spice Girls and 6 guys named Herb on their Twitter account. Coincidence? I think not. This is yet another subtle reference to their original recipe that uses 11 herbs and spices.

This is a perfect example of what KFC’s Twitter strategy is all about- growing brand awareness and loyalty through brilliant content. And, no matter if it’s their popular herbs and spices, The Colonel, or their crispy chicken, their brand and products are deeply integrated into every post and joke they publish.

Just take their most recent tweet promoting new KFC Chicken and Waffles as an example that also helped them generate loads of user-generated content and customer reviews. Remember, your customers trust peer reviews as much as personal recommendations, so this is a bold move that will get your branding efforts of the ground.

Wendy’s (@Wendys)

The restaurant chain was founded in 1969, but they’ve recently gone viral after starting beef (pun intended) with both brands and customers on Twitter.

It all started with a simple tweet, where they emphasized their major competitive advantage of serving only fresh meat. After one of their followers questioned that claim, they roasted them online and got lots of eyeballs on their brand.

Source: Twitter

This was just the beginning of their punny posts and answers on Twitter. They’re engaging their users actively in a conversation, make them pick sides and, obviously, people like that. Whoever is managing their Twitter account, they definitely deserve a round of applause.

Apart from building an image of one of the sassiest brands out there, Wendy’s is also a perfect example of how important having a strong crisis management strategy is. Asked whether they have any memes, Wendy’s recently tweeted Pepe the Frog dressed up as their mascot. What they didn’t know back then is that Pepe the Frog was declared the anti-Semitic hate symbol.

The brand reacted fast, deleting the meme and tweeted that they didn’t were unaware of the meme’s hate background. Their social media manager, Amy Brown, claimed the same in an interview for Business Insider.

They continued firing off several tweets hourly. And, given their rising number of followers (2.89M) and massive likes and retweets their posts get, it seems that the public has forgiven them for the Pepe the Frog incident and continued enjoying in their snarky attitude.

Oreo (@Oreo)

Oreo’s inject of humor on Twitter is attracting 836K followers. With punny and original content, they’re making their tweets about themselves.

Apart from awesome branded content, their social media strategy also focuses on increasing customer engagement and gaining trust. This is exactly what their tweets like: “To our passionate fans: We hear you. We are committed to achieving 100% sustainability & transparency in palm oil…” are about.

They’re also using Twitter to increase user engagement and learn what their customers think of them. For example, on the #NationalCookieDay, they’ve shared a poll with their fans and asked them to vote and help them crush Chips Ahoy. Online polls are a great way to collect customer data and adapt your products and marketing tactics to their preferences.

Sharing social proof is another important aspect of their Twitter marketing strategy. Apart from retweeting user-generated photos and videos, they also banter with the influencers and popular TV shows to grow their follower base. If done strategically, influencer marketing will boost your brand exposure, increase your credibility, and get more people to follow you (and, ultimately, buy from you).

Charmin (@Charmin)

Charmin has one of the most amusing Twitter marketing campaigns ever. The reason for that is simple. They talk about things no one wants to talk about and yet, they do so in such a hilarious way.

And, their hilarious “Don’t use 💩, when you 💩” video is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Each of their tweets is also followed by a series of awesome hashtags, such as #EnjoytheGo, #MadPooper, #WithoutMyMoringCoffee, #everybodypoops#tweetfromtheseat, and so forth.

Promoting a product people use in private and don’t like to talk about is difficult. The majority of the toilet paper ads we see are generic and don’t have any impact on customers. This is what Charmin tried to change by taking the bathroom humor to a whole new level. Pants down, they’re rocking it!

Source: Twitter

Conclusions

Twitter has become an overcrowded place. To stand out, you need to turn to the good-old sense of humor. And, these are just some of the numerous examples of brands killing it on Twitter. Use them to get inspired, but don’t forget that it’s your authenticity that resonates with your followers. Here are a few steps to take:

Think of what makes you special, establish your own brand voice, and incorporate it in your tweets.
Don’t publish random content. Instead, use your product and services to create branded content and promote them in a fun way, just like Netflix or KFC do. At the end of the day, your goal is to convert your followers into customers.
Listen to your followers online, see what troubles them most, and solve their problems to prove you care.
Make sure your content is relatable. Experiment with your Twitter marketing tactics until you establish the messaging that resonates with them.

Hope this helps!

Tags: brand promotion, online marketing, social media, social media marketing, twitter, twitter marketing

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.