By Sahana Jayaraman, PepperDigital
There are plenty of fake and phony Twitter handles out there today that rip on the brands they are associated with. And, ‘Brand jacking’ has become an increasing crisis management issue for PR folks, with faux handles like @BPGlobalPR propagating humor at the expense of a company’s misconduct. By the same token, used creatively, faux-handles can help create buzz and prove to be a creative PR tactic.
As bogus as they may be, they are certainly funny and have caught on as memes individuals spread across the Internet and via other mediums. Brands can leverage this humor to influence change or even shed light upon industry issues that may otherwise go ignored.
For example, I recently read an article in PR Tactics that talked about @FakeAPStylebook a satire on the AP Style Guide, a writing, usage and guide used by newspapers and the media and PR industry in the United States.
@FakeApStylebook is a handle co-founded by @Ken Lowry and is run by a group of journalists, librarians, graphic designers, writers and English professors giving readers “style tips for proper writing”, but with their own twist. A few
tweets for your sampling:
- There is no need to report on European news. It’s already past their bedtime there,
and nobody else cares. - It is wrong to just copy and paste a press release to create a staff report. Add
some extra “according tos” in there - When putting an allusion in your story, always be sure to warn your readers not to
try it at home. - Is an American involved in the international event? If not, it’s hardly “news”,
now is it?
The twitter handle has gained many followers and is being talked about in the industry widely for its humor. It was a simple concept and well executed, something anyone can really pull off for their own brand if they have a smart idea.
FakeAPStylebook suggests that there are a few ways to develop creative and humorous accounts by adhering
to a few guidelines:
- Keep it PG-13, though the occasional sharp veer into R-rated is always welcome for
shock value - Don’t get too political
- Don’t deliberately antagonize people
The article also suggests staying within the same tone with all your tweets, for @FakeApStylebook this remains dusty, authoritative, always using editorial “we”.
Need more inspiration? Last year PC World posted a list of 15 phwetters (phony Tweeters). The list includes the likes of @CNNBreaking; @StephenTColbert; and even fictional characters like @DarthVader and the cast of AMC’s Mad Men for example @Peggy_Olsen. Check them out.
