In April 2010, I wrote a post about a Facebook challenge run by Method, the home cleaning products purveyor. They rewarded their fans with a 50 percent discount for reaching their 10,000 fan milestone. Unfortunately, they faced a number of logistical challenges, too, and their wall lit up with complaints.

Last week they ran a similar promotion when they hit 50,000 “likes.” That’s a lot of growth in 16 months.

Unfortunately, it seems Method didn’t learn from its mistakes. While there are plenty of posts of gratitude, there are arguably as many of complaint. The promotion code didn’t work for some. The people in customer service couldn’t help. The list goes on. People are even complaining about why Method isn’t responding to the complaints.

I don’t think any brand should feel obligated to respond to each and every complaint on a Facebook wall. As Jonathan Salem Baskin pointed out in his comment to my last post, people who “like” Method on Facebook may have never spent one cent on their products. But I do think a post to the community that acknowledges the issues people faced and explains the limitations of the promotion is in order.

I also think it wasn’t the most thoughtful approach to issue the promotion on the eve of Hurricane Irene. Method may be based in California, but many of its East Coast customers (myself included) weren’t able to log on to even know about the promotion. Couldn’t they have said they’d make the announcement about the promotion once the hurricane subsided?

Maybe the third time will be the charm.

When we pitched Method, we thought about what "product" we'd be...

Last week, Method home and personal care products announced a special offer for their Facebook fans: 50 percent off all online orders for 24 hours. The promotion celebrated the page reaching the 10,000 fan milestone. I logged on immediately and bought way more cleaning products than my two-bedroom apartment needs. And I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t resist.

Method’s fans started thanking the company immediately through their comments. However, the tone of the conversation turned quickly when people started running into issues related to hefty shipping charges. Others were complaining that the offer wasn’t valid in their home countries. Apparently, some people tried to call customer service and the folks answering the phones weren’t aware of the promotion. In all, there were 80 “likes” and 80 comments to the original post.

To their credit, Method responded quickly to people’s complaints and resolved most of the issues by asking them to email customer service directly for help. Thirty people commented once Method posted that information. Several people crafted original wall posts – largely expressing their gratitude. When I noticed that Method posted the offer, they were at 10,021 fans. Today, they’re up to 10,278. It seems the offer motivated fans to tell their friends.

Despite the hiccups, Method’s offer seems to have paid off in the form of social media cred. Perhaps others can learn from their challenges. Rose Communications issued a similar challenge to fans of the GearWrench fan page. We launched the page in November and asked for help getting to 2009 fans by the end of the year. When we fell just short of the goal, we decided it was important to offer something to express our appreciation to the early fans. We considered a number of different options, including a discount on GearWrench-branded merchandise. After anticipating some of the challenges Method faced last week, we decided to give away free ratcheting wrench key chains (they may not sound exciting, but they are mini-wrenches that are actually quite coveted!) to our fans. We had a nearly 100 percent response rate and GearWrench’s fan base increased as a result.

If you’re considering a Facebook fan challenge, we’d suggest the following tips:

1. Consider audiences outside the United States because they’re also your fans online
2. Don’t forget to alert customer service so they are prepared for calls
3. Post the rules online like you would for any other promotion
4. Prepare for fans to ask if the contest can be extended; some will miss it
5. Monitor fan feedback and respond; most fans will forgive almost any mistake if the response is thoughtful and timely
6. Review Facebook’s promotion rules to make sure you’re in compliance

Does anyone remember back in the early to mid-90s when whether to launch a web site was still a decision? I was working for a firm then that did interactive design, in addition to traditional marketing communications. One of the big issues of the time was people registering domain names of companies that had not yet taken the plunge. So a big brand would go to register www.insertbrandnamehere.com only to find out it had been “hijacked” by some web developer seeking a huge bounty.

Now that recognized brands are setting up Twitter accounts, it seems like the same type of “brandjacking” is taking place. Just this week, I tried to look up two brands I wanted to follow on Twitter: BornFree and Method. When I know who I am looking for, my first step is often to enter www.twitter.com/theirhandle. But simply entering “bornfree” and “method” took me to unrelated accounts. While the users were not posing as the brands (or looking for a payout), the logical handles for the companies’ social media efforts were taken. Twitter, by the way, does have rules about people misleading followers with company names, logos and false information. My next step was a Twitter search that took me to relevant tweets about their brands, but not to their actual accounts. Ultimately, I found them via links posted on their corporate sites: www.twitter.com/newbornfree and www.twitter.com/methodtweet.

The motives of the handle-squatters may not be malicious, but you never want roadblocks between your brand and your customers. If a hijacker is seeking to harm your brand, Twitter will apparently suspend accounts where an overt trademark infringement is occurring within 48 hours. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for a rumor to turn into reality in the minds of consumers. Just ask Tommy Hilfiger.

Several months ago, we did an assessment of Twitter to determine its viability for a client of ours. We ultimately decided it was not the best use of the company’s limited resources. Their product is expensive, meant to last decades and doesn’t inspire the kind of two-way dialogue the channel affords. But we did take the time to register handles for other clients (with their permission) that should be considering Twitter. In fact, we’re starting to implement the social media strategy for one this week.

Bottom line: If you haven’t registered a Twitter handle for your company brand or name, do it now. Even if you never issue one tweet.

P.S. Our own Jennifer Leckstrom recently penned a piece on her local community’s use of Twitter, which ran on the cover on the paper!