UK Pub Chain JD Wetherspoon Abandons Social Media Platforms in Dramatic Fashion
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| Img: Ewan Munro / JD Wetherspoon |
“In a world of social media, J D Wetherspoon has decided to
close down all Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media accounts for
individual pubs and head office.
“Rather than using social media, we will continue to release
news stories and information about forthcoming events on our website (jdwetherspoon.com) and in our printed
magazine - Wetherspoon News.
“If you’ve been active in contacting us through social
media, please continue to feed back at your local pub or via customer services,
through our website.
“Thank you for being a loyal Wetherspoon customer - we hope
to see you in your local pub soon.”
As for why the company have made the drastic decision to cut
ties with their 44,000 Twitter followers, 100,000 Facebook followers and 6,000
Instagram fans, this seems to be inspired by the growing scrutiny such
platforms face in the wake of scandals such as Facebook’s dealings with
Cambridge Analytica, as well as ongoing issues with trolling, addiction, and
the misuse of data.
Speaking to the BBC, Chairman Tim Martin shed further light
on the circumstances that led to this decision.
“We are going against conventional wisdom that these
platforms are a vital component of a successful business,” said Mr Martin. “We
were also concerned that pub managers were being side-tracked from the real job
of serving customers. I don't believe that closing these accounts will affect our
business whatsoever.”
The chairman further stated that the chain had taken the
opinions of its pub managers into account when contemplating the closure of
these accounts, finding that “90-to-95% felt that using social media was not
helping the business.”
Given the criticism that has been directed at some of the
world’s largest social media platforms in recent times, Wetherspoon’s
motivations do make a certain amount of sense. Whether this is a signal of the beginning
of a wider trend in the business world time will only tell, but when asked whether
he expected that to be that case, Mr Martin told the BBC that he was hoping
not.
“Currently we’ve got a massive commercial advantage because
everyone else is wasting hours of their time.”
Sam
is an aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers.
Currently working as Editor of Social Songbird, he hopes to one day drop that
'aspiring' prefix. Follow him @Songbird_Sam
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UK Pub Chain JD Wetherspoon Abandons Social Media Platforms in Dramatic Fashion
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, April 16, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Monday, April 16, 2018
Rating:
Unknown
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