Tesco uses social media in two quite different ways. Its main supermarket accounts focus on recipes, Clubcard offers and customer service, while Tesco Mobile became famous for cheeky, sometimes sarcastic replies on Twitter, now X. More recently, Tesco has put more of its creative energy into TikTok, and it no longer posts marketing content on X at all.

That mix makes Tesco a useful case study for any small business wondering how much personality to show online. The witty replies won attention and fans, but they only worked because of training, judgement and a plan for when things go wrong. Here is how Tesco does it, and what you can safely borrow.

Tesco runs more than one voice

When people talk about “Tesco’s” funny tweets, they usually mean Tesco Mobile, the mobile network that carries the Tesco name. The supermarket itself has generally kept a friendlier, more helpful tone, focused on food, value and its Clubcard scheme, which Retail Gazette reported in 2025 is used by more than 23 million UK households.

The two voices do different jobs. The supermarket has to talk to almost everyone in the country, about food safety, deliveries and prices. Tesco Mobile had a narrower audience and more room to play.

The small business lesson: your tone should match the job and the audience. A dog groomer can be much sillier than a solicitor, and a reply to a complaint should never sound the same as a fun Friday post.

Tesco Mobile made sarcasm a strategy

In June 2013, Tesco Mobile launched its “#nojoke” campaign, which in the words of its then senior digital marketing manager, Matt Kennedy, meant “poking fun at people who were poking fun at us”. Speaking to Digiday in 2014, Kennedy said the team’s tweets were funny because “they are fun people”.

One exchange reported by Adweek shows the style. A user tweeted that it was an “immediate turnoff if a girl’s mobile network is tesco mobile”. Tesco Mobile replied: “Are you really in a position to be turning girls away?”

It worked. Digiday reported that Tesco Mobile’s customer base grew from 3.5 million to 4 million in 2013, with the brand saying the campaign was a key factor, and that its Twitter following grew by 700% to just under 56,000. Other brands such as Yorkshire Tea and Cadbury joined in with some of its conversations.

The rules behind the jokes

The cheeky tone looked spontaneous, but Digiday’s account shows it had guard rails:

• The team had a short training session on which tweets to engage with, how to read sentiment and who it was appropriate to joke with
• It avoided butting into private, one to one conversations
• It stayed away from accounts that regularly posted hateful or racist content
• It had contingency plans and was ready to apologise if a joke landed badly
• Kennedy said “we don’t jump on real-time bandwagons”, so it mostly reacted to mentions rather than chasing trends

Tesco’s customer care team shows the gentler version

The supermarket’s customer care accounts have also had viral moments, usually from being quick and good humoured rather than sarcastic. CX Network reported on one exchange where a Glasgow customer told Tesco he had bought cookies nearly two weeks out of date. A member of the team, Owen, apologised within about 16 minutes and asked which store had sold them. The customer replied “am no grass”, and his reply was retweeted more than 11,000 times.

Nobody was mocked. The team did its job politely and the customer supplied the punchline. That is a much safer model for most small businesses: be fast, be human and let the humour come naturally.

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A badly timed post shows the risk

Humour depends on timing, and Tesco learned that the hard way. In early 2013, during the horsemeat scandal, the Tesco customer care account posted: “it’s sleepy time so we’re off to hit the hay! See you at 8am for more.” The Grocer reported that people quickly criticised the tweet. Tesco said it was “terribly sorry” and that the post had been scheduled before the news broke, and its customer services team apologised to upset customers.

The risks of a witty or sarcastic tone are worth spelling out:

• Scheduled posts do not read the news. Pause your queue when something serious happens in your sector or community.
• A joke at a customer’s expense can be screenshotted forever. What feels like banter to you can look like bullying to everyone else.
• Not everyone in a thread is in on the joke. A reply to a regular can be read by someone who is genuinely upset.
• Complaints are not comedy. If someone has a real problem, fix it first.
• Your team needs clear limits. Write down what is off limits, who can post and who to ask when in doubt.

Clubcard found a new home on TikTok

Tesco’s best known recent social campaign ran on TikTok. Marketing Week reported that Tesco noticed TikTok users loved the self checkout phrase “Clubcard accepted”, so in 2023 it invited fans to audition to be the voice of the Tesco checkout for a week, using the hashtag #TescoVoiceOfCheckout. People used a TikTok effect that turned the checkout into a talking character and could duet each other’s entries.

According to Marketing Week, the campaign achieved more than 5 million organic views in 24 hours, 42 million video views over the 10 day entry window and just under 3,000 entries. Tesco reported a 12% rise in awareness, a 4% rise in likelihood to recommend and a 7% rise in average Clubcard use. It also won the 2023 Marketing Week Award for social media.

Notice the risk planning again. Marketing Week says Tesco worked with TikTok to remove offensive entries quickly and had contingency plans ready. Even a fun campaign needs a moderation plan.

Tesco has stepped back from posting on X

Here is the part that surprises people. The Grocer reported in 2025 that Tesco had not posted on X since 2023 and now uses the platform only to reply to customers. It is one of several UK supermarkets that have stepped back from posting there.

For a small business, the point is not that X is dead. It is that big brands constantly review where their audience is and what each platform is for. If a channel is not working for you, it is fine to keep it for customer service only and put your effort elsewhere. If you are not sure where to focus, our guide to digital marketing for small businesses is a good starting point.

What small businesses can learn from Tesco social media

1. Decide your tone deliberately. Write down how cheeky you are allowed to be, and where the line is.
2. Train whoever answers your messages. Even if it is one person, agree what you joke about and what you never do.
3. Punch up, never down. Laugh with customers or at yourself, not at someone who is upset.
4. Pause scheduled posts when the news turns serious.
5. Build campaigns around what customers already say. Tesco took “Clubcard accepted” from its fans. Listen for your own version.
6. Have a plan for when it goes wrong. Who removes a post, who apologises and how quickly.
7. Review your channels every year. Keep what works, scale back what does not.

Frequently asked questions

How does Tesco use social media?

Tesco uses social media for recipes and food content, Clubcard promotions, campaigns on platforms such as TikTok and customer service replies. Tesco Mobile, the mobile network that carries the Tesco name, became known separately for its cheeky tone on Twitter.

Why is Tesco Mobile known for sarcastic tweets?

Tesco Mobile’s “#nojoke” campaign from 2013 deliberately poked fun at people who mocked the brand. The tone was backed by training and clear limits on who the team would joke with.

Is it a good idea for a small business to be sarcastic online?

Usually only in small doses. Light humour and self-deprecation work well. Sarcasm aimed at customers is risky, because posts are screenshotted and shared without context.

Does Tesco still post on X?

According to The Grocer, Tesco stopped posting marketing content on X after 2023 and uses it to reply to customers. Its main creative activity now happens on other platforms.

Find the right voice with Delivered Social

Getting your tone right on social media is a balance of personality and judgement. Our team helps businesses across Surrey, Hampshire and beyond write tone of voice guidelines, manage replies and plan content that people enjoy. Take a look at our social media management service, or get in touch for a chat.