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The perils of failing to monitor your brands on the world wide web were highlighted again today with the appearance of a new fake Twitter profile purporting to be that of network operator Orange UK.
The offending Twitter profile, which has just appeared on the site and already garnered over 80 followers, features what looks like an authentic Orange logo and a biog which reads:
"Orange are useless, I have been a client of theirs since they were formed and they tried to screw me on my bill then refused to admit they were wrong. Congrats."
The first tweet on the profile is similarly scathing about the company's customer service. "If you have any Orange complaints please feel free to tweet them here and like traditional Orange customer care nothing will happen," it reads.
A link on the profile to a YouTube video highlighting more substandard service from the network operator continues the theme.
Now Orange really should know better, having marketed themselves as a leader in the social media space. Orange claimed with a tie-up with Twitter announced earlier this month to be the first mobile operator to offer the ability to send and receive Twitter messages via SMS and MMS.
Now, cybersquatting is a well known phenomenon on the web, but big name trademark holders have gotten pretty good at registering and re-registering their brands and any relevant permeations on the web, to avoid losing money and, even worse, a damage to their reputation.
However, Twitter seems still to be a bit of a blind spot when it comes to online brand management. Here a disgruntled customer is venting their ire by brandsquatting Orange via Twitter. If left unchecked, the profile could become a rallying point for those with similar views.
Ironically, Orange published a top ten reasons to use Twitter guide earlier this year. If the firm really was as social media savvy as it believes it would have spotted the profile by now and be doing its best to appease the angry tweeter, within reason, to avoid any more damaging PR.
25 Nov 2009
