Look, Twitter may have a reputation for endless political discourse and ancient memes. And of course, sometimes it’s true. But it is still an important platform for your brand. Especially if you want to practice the art of risky brand comebacks.
Twitter’s snarky brand is starting to feel a little worn these days. But there are still plenty of opportunities to make waves with the right online presence. And it’s not just limited to Twitter. TikTok, Instagram and Facebook offer enough space to show off your social identity.
Ready to learn from the pros? Let’s take a look at some successful social risks that can inspire your brand to make a comeback.
What is risky brand comeback?
In recent years, brands have cultivated huge followings by taking huge risks. They became snarky (Wendy’s), crazy (Moonpie), crazy (Duolingo) and frankly emo (Steakums). These brands have earned tons of attention from unexpected sources by thinking outside the box.
It may have paid off for these brands, but the lesson is not to copy their strategy. Aggressive comments from your small account may not make sense. In addition, trends change quickly. The last thing you want to do is copy someone else and end up creating outdated or annoying content.
The lesson here is that with risk comes reward, especially if you stay true to your voice and purpose. Bringing back a brand can mean pushing boundaries, admitting mistakes, or even taking a political stance.
Risk can also mean seriousness. The days of caustic and sarcastic comebacks are numbered. These days, brands seem to do better with being cute.
But there are many more fresh ways to mix it up online. Here are some of the best social media brand comebacks we’ve seen. Watch and learn.
1. Play with your heel
You don’t always have to answer to take a risk that pays off. Remember, everyone is scrolling through Twitter looking for something to get wet on.
Why should bread be all the fun when eating Weetabix? Serving @HeinzUK Beanz on bix for breakfast with a twist. #ItHasToBeHeinz #HaveYouHadYourWeetabix pic.twitter.com/R0xq4Plbd0
— Weetabix (@weetabix) February 9, 2021
The British breakfast barons of Weetabix have won a major victory by becoming the butt of jokes on Twitter. Their hilarious and repulsive food photo has become a popular global topic. (We hope this was intentional, but it doesn’t really matter.)
Small brand managers may have deleted the tweet when it was ridiculed. But Weetabix won by not slowing down and even participating in a playful festival.
Keep up the good work Kellogg’s milk sooo 2020.
— Weetabix (@weetabix) February 9, 2021
2. Join a group (when appropriate)
The genius of Weetabix’s disgusting food photography was its ability to bring the crowd together. In the end, it’s a pretty ugly picture (although, admittedly, we’re a bit… curious).
However, this is the sort of undeniable “bad”post that can unite the internet. And a lot of people got on board.
Us: Pineapple on pizza is the most controversial food.
Weetabix: Hold my spoon.
— Domino’s Pizza UK (@Dominos_UK) February 9, 2021
The post was ridiculed by everyone from the British National Railway to the official Beatles museum. The gift company Moonpig put the beans on one of their greeting cards. Rival chicken vendors KFC and Nando’s even banter back. Even Pfizer took part in the injections.
It was a real lure for the Twitter brand, and it’s all thanks to Weetabix. But some parts were still not supposed to appear. The response from the official Israeli account, for example, was not well received.
3. Aim for Quote Tweets
At the moment, the biggest risk you can take on Twitter is to expose yourself. After all, if your tweet gets a lot of attention, chances are someone will be rude.
But you won’t win big by playing carefully. Instead, if you want to get attention, try to come up with a lure to engage. If they relate to your brand, even better.
Music festival newsletter The Festive Owl has been a huge hit recently thanks to a simple tip. It paid off, earning over 5,000 quote tweets and the number continues to grow.
First concert: Last concert: Best concert: Worst concert:
— Festive Owl (@TheFestiveOwl) August 14, 2022
Again, the risk here is that people can be rude. If you decide to go down this route, double check the hint to make sure it is relevant to your brand. If your tweet smells of desperation, it could backfire.
4. Keep it discreet
There are ways to insert yourself into the discourse without @ing anyone. The people at Merriam-Webster are very good at this strategy.
No wonder one of the most popular dictionaries in the world knows how to handle words. But their 2021 word was an especially subtle touch of genius.
The word “vaccine” – searches up 601% this year compared to last year – has generated consistent buzz throughout the year – in 2021 it was about much more than medicine.
Vaccine is our 2021 #WordOfTheYear. https://t.co/i7QlIv15M3
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 29, 2021
By choosing a “vaccine”, the brand touched on a hot topic without risking a backlash. The real conversations continued in quote-tweets, but Merriam-Webster started.
5. Really Engage Your Audience
The sugar vendors at Skittles may be sweet, but they’re not afraid to oversalt. They included their audience in many hilarious comebacks without being rude.
It works because they make themselves the butt of jokes. For proof, take a look at this absurd list of thousands of people who complained about the recent change.
The marketing department would like to apologize to 130,880 people for taking the lime away. Unfortunately, it won’t fit in one post.
Download the full jpg to receive your apologies: https://t.co/8enSa8mAB7 pic.twitter.com/He4ns7M4Bm
— KITTLE (@Skittles) April 5, 2022
And it paid off. Skittles even won the official Twitter Best Brands ranking in 2022:
You helped them #RallyForTheRainbow, now last year’s runner-up can officially claim his crown.
Congratulations @Skittles, our #BestOfTweets Brand Bracket ’22 Champion! 🌈 pic.twitter.com/RamCOWRZxN
— Twitter Marketing (@TwitterMktg) April 5, 2022
6. Use the Snark When It’s Appropriate
It’s easy to hang a pride flag on your profile picture and be done with it, right? Wrong. The LGBTQA+ community is (correctly) starting to call out brands that don’t follow the path. One way to show that you really care is to reach out to trolls when appropriate.
When Xbox unveiled new pride-themed hardware, the Twitter troll responded, “No one asked for this.”The Xbox quickly bounced back.
Our Pride controller features 34 flags representing many LGBTQIA+ communities! 🏳️🏳️🌈
Meet the amazing people who inspired the design and find out what each flag means here: https://t.co/s3c6bp9ZhL pic.twitter.com/xQ99z5WpKg
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 8, 2022
It wasn’t rude or particularly attention-grabbing. But it was enough to justify the push for Xbox – and a lot of attention for their new controller.
And no one asked you to answer, but here we are.
— Xbox (@Xbox) June 8, 2022
7. Comment with class
Again, you don’t have to hold up a giant “pick me”sign to engage in critical Twitter conversation. In delicate subjects, grace and balance can be shown through the art of subtlety.
This is exactly what the Star Wars Twitter account did to appeal to the toxic faction of its fans. The multi-year franchise is often the target of obsessive trolls. With each new release, the account non-stop flaunts sarcasm aimed at actors of color who appear in their projects.
We’re thrilled to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Riva’s story to unfold. If someone intends to make her feel unwanted, we can only say one thing: we resist. pic.twitter.com/lZW0yvseBk
— Star Wars | Andor premieres September 21 on Disney+ (@starwars) on May 31, 2022.
After the announcement that King’s Gambit star Moses Ingram had been cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi, a torrent of venomous speculation descended upon them. The way they chose the answer is especially compelling. He addresses the racist trolls without endorsing their hateful rhetoric.
There are over 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be racist.
— Star Wars | Andor premieres September 21 on Disney+ (@starwars) on May 31, 2022.
8. Just be nice
In case you haven’t noticed yet, Wendy’s caustic tone seems to be drifting into the modern era of Twitter. Sometimes “risk”means daring to be different. And cosmetics manufacturer Glossier is leading the way.
@aanasmira “shine-and-yay!”✨
— Gloss (@glossier) March 11, 2018
They have created a kind, friendly online space that can really stand out. Glossier’s version of the brand’s comeback includes a gentle, sweet tone and plenty of emoji. They remain in harmony with Glossier’s mission by delivering superior customer service.
This was only available for a limited time, but we will be bringing the candle back later this year! Stay with us 💕
— Gloss (@glossier) August 12, 2022
9. Go with the flow
Twitter has definitely settled down as a place for brands to get silly. But things can get weird on TikTok.
At a recent workshop, user @ramblingsanchez baited the crowd. Their completely harmless broccoli-eating video shouldn’t have gone viral. But their caption: “Multiple brand accounts should be commenting on this for no reason” was crucial.
The comments section of the video quickly exploded. Brands such as Trojan Condoms, lululemon, and even an official TikTok account have emerged.
@tellmemore.agency @ramblingsanchez managed to get every social media manager together 🪑 #brandsontiktok
10. Come up with your idea
TikTok @ramblingsanchez (now deleted) was a fun experiment that will go down in history. But the Internet moves fast, and fun ideas can quickly become outdated.
Foam dart makers Nerf tried to copy @ramblingsanchez’s decreasing recoil format. Their TikTok expert advised brands to challenge each other to a Nerf duel in the comments. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite pay off in the same way.
@nerf We will just be here creeping in the comments, eating some popcorn🍿 Thanks to @ramblingsanchez for the inspo. #nerf
Of course, a couple of brands have tried their hand in the comments. But the rest of the tape is full of people berating the video for, well, trying.