Update: I wrote this post just days ago, but clearly not enough organizations are paying attention. Without taking time to properly research and react, brands head straight to Twitter and make serious mistakes. The thing is they have no one to blame but themselves. Just today, several companies are revealing their lack of due diligence.
My most recent discovery of terrible tweeting comes from @CelebBoutique. The company is clueless in its attempt to jump on Twitter’s current trending topic #Aurora. It is likely you are well-informed and aware that this trend is centered on the most recent tragedy in Colorado. Way to be classless Celeb Boutique.
Just as watching House doesn’t make you a doctor, having a social media account doesn’t make you an expert. While some people can truly take charge of social media and get an A++, others are out there making mistakes that cause the rest of us to think “seriously?”
Take a look at these four companies that blew it for their brand using Twitter.
A Fashion Designer With Poor Taste
During the revolutionary riots in Egypt, people around the world were using Twitter to discuss the uproar. While some people were worried about what this meant for Cairo, the fashion designer Kenneth Cole took the time to make it an inappropriate promotion. Insensitivity, much?
An Enraged Employee
After their big Super Bowl ad called “Imported from Detroit,” post-bankruptcy Chrysler was still interested in showcasing hometown pride. Instead of your typical tweet about Motor City, a disgruntled employee took creative (and catastrophic) liberty. Chrysler’s official Twitter account said: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to [explicit] drive.” The employee got the boot and the company offered a public apology.
A Clueless Company
A lot of companies see trending topics and want to be in on it. However, Entenmanns didn’t do any research in the trending hashtag ‘notguilty’ before jumping on the band wagon. The hashtag was centered around the Casey Anthony verdict, but the brand didn’t even take the time to figure that out.
A Terrible Typo
Twitter is an excellent outlet for breaking news. However, in the haste of posting about a breaking story ABC 7 News fell victim to the unfortunate proximity of the letters ‘o’ and ‘i’ when attempting to say a suspect shot himself.
In three out of four of these crazy cases, it would have paid off to simply think before tweeting. Instead, these organizations had to worry about damage control.
To be honest, there were plenty of Twitter tumbles to showcase here, and I’d love for anyone who is up for it to add their favorite.
About the author
During the revolutionary riots in Egypt, people around the world were using Twitter to discuss the uproar. While some people were worried about what this meant for Cairo, the fashion designer Kenneth Cole took the time to make it an inappropriate promotion. Insensitivity, much? After their big Super Bowl ad called “Imported from Detroit,” post-bankruptcy Chrysler was still interested in showcasing hometown pride. Instead of your typical tweet about Motor City, a disgruntled employee took creative (and catastrophic) liberty. Chrysler’s official Twitter account said: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to [explicit] drive.” The employee got the boot and the company offered a public apology.
A Clueless Company
A lot of companies see trending topics and want to be in on it. However, Entenmanns didn’t do any research in the trending hashtag ‘notguilty’ before jumping on the band wagon. The hashtag was centered around the Casey Anthony verdict, but the brand didn’t even take the time to figure that out.
A Terrible Typo
Twitter is an excellent outlet for breaking news. However, in the haste of posting about a breaking story ABC 7 News fell victim to the unfortunate proximity of the letters ‘o’ and ‘i’ when attempting to say a suspect shot himself.
In three out of four of these crazy cases, it would have paid off to simply think before tweeting. Instead, these organizations had to worry about damage control.
To be honest, there were plenty of Twitter tumbles to showcase here, and I’d love for anyone who is up for it to add their favorite.
About the author
A lot of companies see trending topics and want to be in on it. However, Entenmanns didn’t do any research in the trending hashtag ‘notguilty’ before jumping on the band wagon. The hashtag was centered around the Casey Anthony verdict, but the brand didn’t even take the time to figure that out. Twitter is an excellent outlet for breaking news. However, in the haste of posting about a breaking story ABC 7 News fell victim to the unfortunate proximity of the letters ‘o’ and ‘i’ when attempting to say a suspect shot himself.
In three out of four of these crazy cases, it would have paid off to simply think before tweeting. Instead, these organizations had to worry about damage control.
To be honest, there were plenty of Twitter tumbles to showcase here, and I’d love for anyone who is up for it to add their favorite.
About the author
One of my favorite social media mishaps was when McDonalds introducted the #McDStories hashtag and people started tweeting their horrible McDonald’s experiences.
Not exactly the company’s fault, but they probably could have implemented the hashtag more effectively.
Ha! I remember this disaster. Good one, Alyssa.
Great examples and a good word of warning that getting “cute” is not always a sound marketing strategy!