3 social media lessons from @BronxZoosCobra

We’re not saying you should learn to be snakes, but instead take the advice of the most popular asp on Twitter.

On our way to the social media party, we in the corporate world have to make pit stops at the legal department, the best practices office, and HR—and get frisked by the brand police.

After that, it’s no wonder we’re a little tense, a tad stiff.

On our Twitter accounts it shows.

Now, I’m not advocating for social media anarchy, but I am saying we could use a little loosening up. But where to learn?

Forget the snake-oil salesman, let’s go straight to the snake—@BronxZoosCobra.

The backstory:

On March 25, a venomous Egyptian cobra escaped from the Bronx Zoo reptile house. The missing snake quickly sparked a popular Twitter parody account, @BronxZoosCobra, which narrated the daily hijinks of the Egyptian cobra.

This account didn’t hatch from the official brand—it came from an anonymous source—but brands can take note and learn how to be a little less stiff, a little less formal, and a whole lot more engaging.

We can learn a lot about being less stiff and more engaging in social media from @BronxZoosCobra.

The lessons:

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