Tesco Mobile, Yorkshire Tea and Jaffa Cakes rule at social media. And this is why…

For some brands it can be difficult knowing how or whether to respond to tweets.

It takes time getting sign off, writing, rewriting and finally posting responses. Sure, the progressive brands have teams that are allowed to engage without further sign-off on most cases, but there’s still a natural hesitancy for many people. And then there’s the issue of whether your follower/s will respond the way you anticipated – and where it could all lead.

Which is why this Twitter conversation that has been going viral in the UK today is so refreshing. It shows brands understanding their audiences and taking a fearless approach to joining in online.

When Tesco Mobile received an image of a girl’s Facebook status laughing at her friend for having a contract with the retailer’s mobile phone operator arm, no one could predict the Twitter conversation that emerged. Brands jumped in to show their human side – and then some.

It all started out with the tweet below:

Tesco Mobile replied to Riccardo’s tweet and quickly formed a bond over their love for the mobile network before renaming themselves as Batman and Robin stating that together they could make the world a better place.

Feeling thirsty ‘Batman’ aka Tesco Mobile asked its new friend to put the kettle on with which Riccardo responded ‘Yorkshire tea alright?’. Being quick to respond despite the official handle for Yorkshire Tea not being used, there was suddenly one more person in the conversation. As you need biscuits with tea it wasn’t long before Jaffa Cakes was also invited to join in.  

Things then escalated pretty quickly as Riccardo’s snack addiction led him to reach out to other companies. Phileas Fogg not missing a trick quickly replied to the following tweet in place of Walker’s Crisps who #failed to comment:

The Twitter conversation, apart from being absolutely hilarious, is a great example showing that when companies loosen their social media reigns and become more agile they can really kick up a positive storm on the social network creating something that is still being talked about and shared, days later.

Three cheers for efficient, creative and amusing social media managers.