What PR pros can learn from Southern Rail UK’s Twitter misstep

Sometimes even the best-intentioned social media efforts go awry.

In those cases, it’s often best to take a page from Southern Rail UK’s playbook and just roll with it.

The organization came up with a fun idea that many others have tried: Hand over control of its official, branded social media accounts to an intern. Here’s how it started:

Hi, Eddie here! Here on Work Experience and ready to answer your questions! 😊

— Southern (@SouthernRailUK) July 11, 2017

It seems straightforward enough: Fifteen-year-old Eddie the intern was ready to take the internet’s questions. Surely Twitter users took this seriously and peppered him with mature, well-thought-out questions befitting the situation.

Not quite.

It wasn’t long before users started having fun with it, leaving Eddie to answer questions that had nothing to do with transportation.

[RELATED: Refresh your social media strategy so you can react on the fly.]

Some inquired about cuisine choices:

Eddie, question...

Shall I have chicken fajitas tonight or chicken thai green curry? #AskEddie

— Ads (@Adam_W48) July 11, 2017

Hi, if you need the correct amount, always start off with around 200g per person, then build up depending on how much 1/2

— Southern (@SouthernRailUK) July 11, 2017

One Twitter user wanted to know Eddie’s preference for European football teams:

Couldn't say. I support the better claret and blue side 😉 although would love to see them back up. ^Eddie

— Southern (@SouthernRailUK) July 11, 2017

There were also odd questions, such as the following:

100 duck-sized horses. A horse-sized duck would be pretty scary! You? ^Eddie

— Southern (@SouthernRailUK) July 11, 2017

Hi, it has to be a war monger. The fish monger at my nearest ASDA is amazing. ^Eddie

— Southern (@SouthernRailUK) July 11, 2017

URGENT QUESTION - Eddie, would you rather have rollerblades for feet or chopsticks for hands for the rest of your life?

— Tom Cox (@comtox) July 11, 2017

Kudos to the Southern Rail team for going with the flow once things went viral.

One of the most important lessons marketers can take from this story is that sometimes you just have to accept that internet users will have their own take on the messages you share online.

Southern Rail could have easily said, “Please keep the questions train-related,” or told Eddie not to answer any tweets that weren’t serious inquiries or concerns. Instead, the organization embraced the attention, scored some positive PR in the process and even invited Eddie back for another Twitter gab fest.

Even if you work for a straightforward organization that takes itself seriously on social media, keep in mind that you’ve chosen to play in an often ridiculous medium—and one that you can’t control. When things don’t go the way you planned, you can either embrace it or fight it. There are far more success stories of companies that embraced compared to those that fought.

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