unicornnews: Habitat admits Twitter mistake

Retailer Habitat has admitted it made a mistake when it sneaked popular keywords, or ‘trending topics’, into its promotional tweets in a bid to increase its profile on Twitter.

The furnishing store got itself a bad name on the micro-blogging website recently when it started including popular keywords in its own Tweets about special offers and a current sale. By including words like ‘iPhone’ and ‘Apple’, and even some related to recent political unrest in Iran, it meant the retailer’s plugging Tweets would be seen by any Twitter uses following comments on those topics.

A clever move you might think, but doing so broke one of the albeit unwritten rules of Twitter etiquette, and the backlash against the retail firm was quick to follow.

Spotting a PR disaster on the horizon, the retailer quickly deleted its incorrectly tagged promotional Tweets, while a spokesman told Sky News: “This was a mistake and it is important to us that we always listen, take on board observations and welcome constructive criticism. We will do our utmost to ensure any mistakes are never repeated”.

Posted Monday June 29 2009 by Chris Cooke