Twitter can be a great way for brands to reach audiences and engage in a personal, one-on-one manner.

It can also, as JPMorgan recently discovered, be a merciless platform where even the world’s biggest brands are largely powerless when public sentiment turns.

Twitter fail

Last week JPMorgan planned a Twitter question-and-answer session with senior executive Jimmy Lee, promoted under the hashtag #AskJPM.

What was intended as a positive public outreach soon spun out of control as the bank faced a barrage of abusive comments from the Twitter community.

Over six hours 80,000 posts linked to the #AskJPM hashtag, most of them uncomplimentary.

Some of the comments included “Can I have my house back?” from @AdamColeman4, “Is it true 'JPM' stands for 'Just Pay More'?'' via @SconsetCapital and 'Is it true that, while you don't always spit on poor people, when you do, you have perfect aim?'. 

Another user posted a drawing of a whale, making reference to the JPMorgan's alleged link to the London Whale trading scandal.

Retreat

Eventually the volley of tweets became too much and JPMorgan was forced to cancel the session with the tweet “”#Badidea! Back to the drawing board.”

JPMorgan is facing a US$13 billion fine over alleged misdeed during the Global Financial Crisis, and has recently been in the news over its ongoing investigation by the US Justice Department.

As this epic Twitter fail shows, even the biggest brands aren't immune from consumer wrath when it comes to social.

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