Looks like someone is taking matters of BP’s Social Media presence into their own hands.  In less than a week, this account (obviously fake) has gained, as of the time of this post, over 31,000 followers.

This post is designed to show three things: What this fwitter (short for fake/faux twitter user) is doing right, What BP is doing wrong, and what everyone can learn from the dark side of social media.

3 Things the Fwitter is Doing Right:

1. Content is Quality- The ‘content’, in this case tweets designed to raise awareness, is sharable and high quality (in comic value at least…which is what they are going for).

2. Content is Current- This user took action fast and is talking about information with up to the minute relevance. It is easy to see that a fwitter account bashing old news like how bad Windows ME was would be far from effective.

3. The Content is WORKING -Perhaps the most significant factor in this entire debacle is that this user has single handedly brought BP the the front of peoples minds in a way that traditional media never could.  These tweets, though comical, serve as a constant reminder that the oil spill has not gone away, and more importantly, is being handled poorly.  In today’s faster than instant and beyond ‘noisy’ world it is refreshing to see content that breaks through the static to shed light on an issue until it is resolved.

2 Things BP is Doing Wrong

1. Not Listening- Although it is a new(ish) concept, many companies are hiring CLOs (Chief Listening Officers).  It is quite possible the last thing on BP’s collective mind is their image, BUT they have an opportunity to truly understand what this spill is doing to their image.

2. Not Communicating- With this information, this conversation, and the information they *should* have from listening to the community, BP would have an opportunity to communicate with the general public about what is important.  No longer is this a guessing game.  BP should be addressing the concerns the community has in a fast and effective manner.  The tools are there… BP needs to use them. (Sounds like an issue both on and offline.)

1 Thing We Can All Learn From The Dark Side Of Social Media

1. If you are not involved in the conversation about you/your brand, you don’t have the slightest chance of steering it in the right direction and things might get a bit sticky.