Earlier this week, the Victorian Taxi Association launched a social media campaign asking people to tweet their “taxi story” using the YourTaxis hashtag.
According to media reports, the response from Twitter users was swift and brutal with people using the campaign to vent their anger about all sorts of situations from being stranded alone to the personal hygiene of cab drivers.
Unfortunately, it also gave the public the opportunity to widely praise the taxi industry’s arch nemesis Uber for its efficiency and lower costs.
#yourtaxis Driver arrived on time, in a clean car, and even chose a way home that avoided traffic…wait, sorry that was actually @Uber
— Marc Slater (@MarcWSlater) November 10, 2015
Cab rear ended another car, kept meter running while exchanging details for 20 mins, demanded I pay total amount, I hurt my neck #YourTaxis
— Hantai (@supsuphannah) November 9, 2015
Hi @YourTaxis, just wondering if you had any social media jobs going this morning #yourtaxis
— McDowens2015 (@doctormcdougall) November 9, 2015
Despite the criticism, the taxi industry put on a brave face saying that the whole point was to attract “the good and the unhealthy and the whole thing in between”.
There are other examples of Twitter campaigns gone wrong. How can we forget when Qantas offered luxury pyjamas to users sharing their “dream luxury inflight experience”, back in 2011?
The comments were creative and many but definitely not favourable as it came off the back of months of negative publicity re the industrial disputes that grounded the entire Qantas fleet.
The Victorian Taxi Association has stated it will use the feedback acquired to help improve its services but the lesson is, of course that you cannot make people send in positive stories.
However, connecting with your customers in the right way is always a positive move and one that Infodec Communications can help you achieve in a number of ways whether it be a Twitter campaign, or an integrated social media campaign.
For mid-sized companies, an investment in a public relations/social media crisis management plan is recommended.
The professionals at Infodec are experienced in proven management strategies and are able to compile a comprehensive pre-plan in order to handle any unexpected event or communications crisis.
Phone: (02) 9531 5595
E-mail: contact@infodec.com.au
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