Twitter Hacks: Would You Know How To Handle It?
We’re seeing a new trend in social media. No I’m not talking about Pinterest, or Vine. I’m talking about large corporate Twitter accounts being hacked. While this has been happening for several years now, we are noticing that it is happening much more frequently. In fact, over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen numerous such cases including Jeep and Burger King‘s Twitter account being compromised by hackers, HMV’s account being maliciously taken over by disgruntled staff and MTV‘s account being comprised by, well, themselves as an apparent hoax. So what does this all mean? Does it even really matter?
The Social Media Free Ride.
For a long time brands were getting a free ride on social media. With low cost to entry and high online visibility, brands were reaping the benefits that social offered, and rarely thought about the “what if”. What if something went wrong? What if our account gets hacked? What would that mean for our brand? Our followers? Our bottom line? They never considered the opposite affect that this powerful toolset could have on their brand if used the wrong way.
When a social media catastrophe strikes, such as a hack, brand and communications managers need to act fast. Whenever a hacked account is reclaimed, we often see a slew of public apologies for the incident and are reassured that the messages sent do not reflect the values of the brand. A crisis can often be rectified if a smart communications manager proactively steps in with honest, transparent and thorough apology. At the end of the day, who can really blame an account for getting hacked?
A look at the flip side.
There is an old adage in the world of marketing that says “Any PR is good PR”. While this is debatable, could it be true in this case? Think about it. Yes, from the brand’s perspective, they are mortified. All of a sudden they do not hold the keys to one of their foremost communications tools. Imagine McDonald’s had a TV commercial hacked? What would the repercussions of that be? Well, trust me, Twitter has much more reach. But is this a PR nightmare, or simply free press? A glowing opportunity to show how great your brand and customer relations really are? Often times consumers look back and say “Wow, Burger King really handled that well. Kudos.”
The Consumer Perspective.
Hacks are often extremely obvious. Most people know when an account has been hacked. If I frequent Burger King on a weekly basis, does the fact that some activists hacked their account skew my perception of their brand? Will I buy any fewer burgers? Probably not. But what about the unengaged consumer, someone who maybe goes to a Burger King restaurant once or twice a year? All of a sudden Burger King is in the news, all over the internet and now top of mind. That previously unengaged user starts following the brand to catch a glimpse of the hack, only to notice that a few hours later it has been reclaimed by the brand who actually handled the situation pretty well, and maybe with a bit of humour. Now this person is engaged. Burger King has taken a potential “catastrophe” and spun it to grow their engaged audience.
The Numbers.
It’s impossible to tell what Burger Kings hack will have on their bottom line. Will they sell fewer burgers as a result of the hack? More burgers? No one knows. But we can however have a look at the social numbers. While the brand scrambled earlier this week to reclaim their brand online, they saw an outstanding increase in their followers, which jumped from around 50,000 to over 112,000 in one day. Talk about growing and audience. The brand even acknowledged this influx of new followers in a tweet sent out later that day.
How to Prepare.
No brand is 100% immune to Twitter hacks. It happens. But there are some precautions you can take to prepare for such an event. Start by developing a social media policy that set clears boundaries and protocols, while still allowing your social media team some freedom to be creative. Having a proactive plan in place will not only help mitigate the risk that your account can be hacked, but will provide your team with clear protocols and guidelines if such an event does happen. Consider including brand guidelines, rules about password protection, account authorization on smartphones, proper listening and reporting tools set up and a crisis management plan that outlines steps to follow in case of a hack.
Final Thoughts.
While Burger King was able to put a somewhat positive spin on the situation, and more than double their following in the process, this is not always the case. We’re not saying that a social media crisis is a good thing or a bad thing. It just happens. What’s essential here is that you do everything you can do to prevent it, and are ready for it if it does happens.
Are big corporations doing enough to keep their online brands safe? What is Twitter’s responsibility in all of this? Let us know what you think, we’d love to hear your comments. Here are a few more great articles you should read on the topic.
Suggested links:
- Burger King Twitter Hacked Into McDonald’s
- Jeep Becomes Latest Victim of Twitter Hack Attack
- MTV Twitter “Hack” Prank Was A Risky Ploy For Attention
- Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr Notify of Security Breach After Zendesk Hack