For marketers, social media is basically useful for one thing – spreading your message. Pages and pages of discussion have been devoted to the best ways that a brand can use the new media to direct attention towards your product or service.

But what if fate takes hold and produces some random element which causes your product or service to gain attention?

Yesterday, Monster Munch began trending in the UK on Twitter. The reason for this was because one Debbie Taylor appeared on GMTV talking about how she’s eaten nothing else but Monster Munch for the last 10 years.

Debbie Taylor - Inadvertently kick-started a social media trend

Upon seeing the crisps mentioned in trending topics, my first thought was that it must have originated from Monster Munch themselves. But no, a large amount of people were sufficiently amused/appalled by the tale of Debbie Taylor that it took hold and spread organically (even if only for a short period). So, rather than Monster Munch kick-starting a campaign which got the public talking, the public simply started talking, by themselves. A sure stroke of luck indeed!

However, could Monster Munch have done anything to maximise the opportunity presented by this slice of good fortune? Could they have effectively done what most brands do when using social media but in reverse, and used the public talking about them to kick-start a campaign?

While a portion of the country was talking about their brand, Monster Munch were nowhere to be seen.

Monster Munch

A quick search reveals that they don’t have a Twitter account (although Walkers do) but they have a Facebook page and a, no longer updated, blog. For a brand with such a visible and marketable presence (the monsters!), this seems strange. By being active on Twitter, they would have seen the interest randomly generated in their product and they could have capitalised on it. An awful lot of people revealed their love for the crisp and their intention to buy some straight away. Monster Munch could have conversed with these people, built up relationships, made the conversation last longer and actually made something out of this randomly generated publicity. Instead, the monsters were hiding.

About the Author

Paul Barnett

Paul Barnett is a Social Media Analyst for Social Media Library, responsible for developing the content within Social Media Library. Paul lives in a world of blogs, blogs and more blogs, scouring the web and plucking out the juiciest information he finds. Previous to this, he worked as a Music Press Officer. He is also a freelance writer, an organiser of Scrabble Sunday and blogs about stuff that he does here.