.@jeep Glad everything is back to normal.
— BurgerKing (@BurgerKing) February 19, 2013
Per Socialbakers, Burger King netted 30,000 Twitter followers when the brand's account on the site was hacked yesterday.
But when Jeep had the same fate amble upon it today? A universe of tweeps seem to let out a collective #yawn, as only a couple thousand people clicked to follow the automotive brand.
In the social media world, the developments suggest that what's buzz-worthy one day is "s-o-o yesterday" as soon as its over. And Burger King's social lift seems to indicate that it was actually the lucky one in all of this, even though its account on Monday for hours proclaimed that it had been sold to McDonald's and tweeted out some less-than-flattering messages about the BK brand.
"All things considered, I think it probably turned out pretty positive for Burger King," said Larry Tolpin, president of hospitality-focused agency Paradise. "Things change quickly, though. The late-night comedians haven't really had their shot at this yet. It will be interesting to watch Comedy Central tonight."
To Tolpin's last point about coming off the long Presidents' Day weekend, Scott Monty, Ford social media director, sympathized with Burger King's plight. "It’s not about being always on during the work week anymore," Monty said. "It’s about always being on no matter what day it is.”
Also on Tuesday afternoon, Viacom marketers reacted to the Burger King and Jeep situations in what might be described as lackluster attempt at humor. They "fake-hacked" the MTV account while suggesting it had been rebranded as BET, its sister property. The scheme only lasted a few minutes.
Meanwhile, Twitter clearly doesn't want this happening to brands and recommends they change their password often to avoid the fate.
And while it's arguable that Burger King did well in the grand scheme of things—whether you look at the scores of Twitter followers gained (for free) or the good-natured sympathy around the brand's predicament—Jeep's blip-on-the-screen results today say the buzz-worthiness around brands getting hijacked on Twitter may already be over.
S-o-o-o yesterday.
