Here at SMK we like to talk about news, tips, practical advice and the occasional piece of gossip when it comes to social media and digital marketing.

And like anything, some of the best lessons can be learned from others mistakes. So in a new weekly column we're looking at social media meltdowns and what can be gleaned from them.

Kicking off the series this week is the case of JP Morgan and Twitter.

Banking on tweets

In November 2013 JP Morgan senior executive Jimmy Lee was scheduled to host a Q&A Twitter session under the handle #AskJPM, offering financial advice to customers.

A day before the session JP Morgan sent out a tweet reminding users about the event, then something unexpected happened.

The tweet gained traction, just not in the way the bank had hoped for.

Wild fire

Within 24 hours the #AskJPM hashtag had attracted over 18,000 tweets, with the vast majority being negative and derogatory.

Here's a sample:

“Does the sleaze wash off with a regular shower, or do you have to use something special like babies tears? #AskJPM”.

“Did you have a specific number of people’s lives you needed to ruin before you considered your business model a success? #AskJPM”.

“Do your clothes fit better since you don’t have the added weight of a soul? #AskJPM”.

Damage control

JP Morgan quickly realised the story was out of their control and cancelled the Q&A session a few hours before it was scheduled to go live. The bank conceded defeat with the tweet:

“Tomorrow's Q&A cancelled. Bad Idea. Back to the drawing board”.

Over the following weeks countless articles documented the event and JP Morgan became unwittingly responsible for one of the biggest social media fails of 2013.

Fallout

What can we learn from the JP Morgan case? Firstly, be wary of joining an online conversation when you're facing real world trouble.

At the time of the Twitter debacle JP Morgan was facing a US$13 billion fine over alleged misdeeds during the Global Financial Crisis, and had recently been in the news over its ongoing investigation by the US Justice Department.

Secondly, do the benefits outweigh the risks? Even if JP Morgan's Q&A had gone off without a hitch, would it have justified the risk if the event blew out into a worse case scenario? Unlikely.

Be sure to weigh up the pros and cons of asking open ended questions online before dipping your toes into the sometimes tumultuous torrents of social. 

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