This story is a case of “if only.” It was a campaign that never happened because the means to make it happen weren’t there. It shows how social networks can deliver the goods, only they have to be invented first. Here goes.
Round about the year 3 BT (i.e. three years before Twitter was launched) we had an interesting article to write for a leading health & safety publication about how to address workplace stress. This was for a PR client specialising in workplace counselling and Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) and the aim was to encourage employers to appreciate the value of these services.
Anyway, the point is that this article, or rather the issues that it described, could well be Tweeted. Workplace stress can come from many different problems – frustration at work, bullying, problems at home, personal debt etc – all of which can be covered by an EAP.
Twitter’s 140 character format is ideal for getting bites of information across and, if it had existed at the time of writing the article, it could have been an excellent support for the PR, building the picture through daily or even 2x daily Tweets. It might have gone something like this...
| Tweet 1 |
In 12 months 11+ million working days have been lost through stress. Were you affected? An EAP could be the answer – go to [URL address] |
| Tweet 2 |
The person at the desk next to you may be seriously in debt. An EAP could be the answer – go to [URL address] |
| Tweet 3 |
TIs someone you know under-achieving? It may not be their fault. An EAP could be the answer – go to [URL address] |
And then, at the point of the Trigger-Tweet, no matter what it is that makes the person take their action, all obstacles to resistance are removed: a Tiny URL to give really quick access to a well designed landing page – congruent and fitting with the call to action in the Tweet – and from there, options for the visitor that are simple and well laid out. To email, to call, to find out more, whether the visitor is a potential EAP purchaser from an HR department, or a potential service user from an existing client, no matter what the source of enquiry, the pathway to conversion should be as simple and as clear as possible.
And the Tweet goes on....
| Tweet 4 |
Personal bust-ups can lead to workplace dust-ups. An EAP could be the answer – go to [URL address] |
| Tweet 5 |
Need support in your work? A sympathetic ear? Good advice? An EAP could be the answer – go to [URL address] |
... etc., etc.
Someone else may think of better Tweets on the subject of stress, but the basic idea definitely has potential. Possibly someone’s already doing a Twitter campaign on stress - are you reading this, HSE people?