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In this edition of our business-to-business blog, we explore social media blunders that major brands have made and the valuable lessons we can learn from them. Join us as we dissect these missteps and delve into the world of social media marketing. From insensitive posts to misguided campaigns, we'll discuss the impact of these blunders and how you can avoid similar pitfalls. Discover the importance of careful planning, audience understanding, and crisis management in the digital era. Get ready to navigate the realm of social media with wisdom and finesse.
The internet is a receptacle for all things good or bad. You post something and it’s there in the interwebs for life, becoming your legacy, like it or not. This is why each and every social media post you make should be carefully planned and executed whether you’re posting it on your personal account or your business’.
This is not restricted to small businesses and little-known brands. We’ve compiled some of the most memorable social media blunders committed by major brands plus tips on how you can avoid them.
Tone Deaf Messages
Two homemade bombs detonated, killing 3 persons, causing 16 victims to lose limbs and injuring a dozen more. The 2013 Boston Marathon is now memorable for all the wrong, very heartbreaking, reasons but the sense of loss and gravity of the event seemed to have been lost on Adidas. They sent an insensitive email to runners after the event, the subject line of which read: “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon.”
Some people might argue that this is nothing more than a case of unfortunate timing. While this may be true, it’s not an excuse. There’s always time to go back and do a thorough check of your scheduled posts especially after a historic or tragic event. Times like these, people are sensitive and high-strung. You don’t want your brand to be remembered for being tone-deaf and insensitive at such a time.
It speaks a lot about your and your brand’s emotional intelligence and capacity for empathy when you go out of your way to edit or even scrap a scheduled social media post or email in respect to a recent event. You might think people won’t notice but a little change to show that you’re one with the community can go a long way.
Let Someone Else Do It
Being the CFO of Twitter (back then, at least), one would expect Anthony Noto to be well-versed on online etiquette but, sadly, no. He tweeted out a direct message to the whole world by accident which contained details about a possible merger. Needless to say, Noto is no longer associated with Twitter since then.
As a business owner, it might be tempting to do everything all by yourself. While this is admirable and maybe highly doable in the beginning, a lot of your other responsibilities might overwhelm you over time. If you have the budget for it anyway, you might want to look into getting a writer for your social media posts.
They can be trusted to be able to create, proofread and edit any content that’s meant to be posted on social media. You can veto every post before it goes out but having a writer on hand takes away a bulk of the pressure from your shoulders.
Let Someone Else Do It (Once more for maximum effect!)
Black Friday is a time of frenetic activity for business working hard and consumers going after that big sale. A tweet was scheduled to go out on McDonald’s Twitter about Black Friday deals. The tweet, instead, was posted as saying: “Black Friday ***need copy and link****. It looks like someone neglected to remove placeholder and create the actual tweet.
This can negatively impact your business’ performance during the sale season and be potentially embarrassing. To avoid mistakes like this, consider getting a Social Media Manager whom you can trust to take charge of conceptualising and scheduling of your social media posts and even attend to comments and direct messages. Again, as a business owner, you have the right to approve and reject drafts since everything will have to go through you.
Relinquishing some of the control over the projects or initiatives may be challenging for a business owner especially if your venture is still new and you’re still finding your way around the market. The good thing about it is, whether you’re getting a graphic artist, writer or Social Media Manager, you will still have the right to approve or reject drafts as the business owner. This gives you control over the tone of the messages that are posted on your business’ social media profiles, making sure they’re all according to your company’s mission and vision.
