The Sad Tale of the Twitter F Bomb

Controlling the Conversation – Part 1 of 3 on the Impact of Social Media and Marketing Agencies

A few years ago – OK closer to ten years ago – when I was the public relations manager of a bank, the investor relations manager called me up one day and told me to log on to Yahoo Finance.  Apparently a few disgruntled stockholders had written some derogatory comments about us on a message board.  My first thought was, “Oh come on Patti, who cares what some anonymous crank has to say about us on a message board?  The guy doesn’t even know the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’.  Stockholders won’t listen to him.”

Fast forward to today when the President of the United States is scooped by Twitter with the announcement of death of Osama bin Laden.  I was wrong about the importance of message boards and the Internet, but you still should know the difference between “your” and “you’re.”

Social media has become integrated into our personal and professional lives and it’s changing the way we market ourselves, our organizations and our clients.  Last weekend, a friend of mine referred to himself as a brand.  I had to laugh for a minute, but he’s a very entrepreneurial individual and he has an amazing point.

By allowing anyone to be a content creator, you have to monitor what you say via social media forums otherwise one random tweet could put you into a precarious situation – with a current client, potential future client or employer.

Take for example the case of Chrysler’s FORMER social media agency that was dropped after an employee used the F word on Chrysler’s official Twitter feed to insult drivers in Detroit.

As a PR person, there are a few issues I’m sure Chrysler had, including using inappropriate language and also insulting the company’s hometown drivers.  This is just really poor judgment and unfortunately, not an isolated incident.

How many more marketing agencies are going to lose clients by things said on Twitter?  Think about it – you’re providing counsel to your clients about how to sell their brand and yet you’re bashing it in a public forum?  This is why it’s so important for public relations to be involved in social media activities.

That digital genius you just stole away from that interactive firm certainly knows a lot about social media and creates a great Twitter background, but does he/she know about client management and image?

While this may seem redundant, here are a few things to keep in mind when offering up social media counsel to your clients:

• Always outline what kind of content is appropriate for social media forums and separate this out by medium.  For example, what’s appropriate for Twitter might not make sense for Facebook or LinkedIn.  No one wants to see photos from your agency picnic on LinkedIn.
• Clearly identify anything your clients do NOT want to see in their social media activities, such as offensive language.  It sounds simple but I’m sure Chrysler never thought they’d see the F word on their official Twitter feed.
• Have a system of checks and balances in place to make sure whoever is Tweeting or posting on Facebook is getting approval on communications before going live.  You would do this for a press release or ad copy – take the time to do the same for social media.

By implementing these simple guidelines and using some common sense, hopefully you can avoid some of the pitfalls of social media.