http://thefinancialbrand.com/35532/8-lessons-from-jpmorgan-twitter-disaster/JPMorgan suffered a severe public spanking after trying to host a town hall Q&A on Twitter. Here’s what you can learn from their mistake.
Monday, November 6, will be a day remembered by both JPMorgan and Twitter for some time to come, and not for the same reasons. At 9 am that morning, Twitter went public, with underwriting help from JPMorgan. A few minutes later, JPMorgan sent out a tweet from its corporate account unrelated to the IPO.
The tweet seemed harmless enough. The bank announced a live Twitter Q&A about leadership and career advice hosted by one of its executives. Participants were encouraged to submit questions using the hashtag #AskJPM.
One week later, JPMorgan sent out a reminder tweet: “JPMorgan VC Jimmy Lee is taking over @JPMorgan on 11/14. Tweet Qs using #AskJPM.”
While hardly anyone noticed the original tweet, the second one spread like wildfire. Within 24 hours, there were 18,669 tweets using the #AskJPM hashtag, and none of them were what JPMorgan had hoped for. Twitter users around the world hijacked the hashtag, using the opportunity to blast the bank’s ethics (or lack thereof):
Does the sleaze wash off with a regular shower, or do you have to use something special like babies tears? #AskJPM
I have Mortgage Fraud, Market Manipulation, Credit Card Abuse, Libor Rigging and Predatory Lending. Am I diversified? #AskJPM
Did you have a specific number of people’s lives you needed to ruin before you considered your business model a success? #AskJPM
When Jamie Dimon eats babies are they served rare? I understand anything above medium-rare is considered gauche. #AskJPM
Do you have a secret jail in your offices so your executives get at least one chance to see the inside of one? #AskJPM
What’s the best way to get blood stains out of a clown suit? #AskJPM
What’s it like working with Mexican drug cartels? Do they tip? #AskJPM
Do your clothes fit better since you don’t have the added weight of a soul? #AskJPM
Can I have my house back? #AskJPM
