Everyone makes mistakes and businesses are no exception – especially on social media. Countless articles line the web about different social media fails from companies both large and small. Despite the hindrances, the benefits social platforms offer are simply too important for brands to ignore. You need to be social. You need to take a stand to differentiate your brand. And you, most importantly, need to know that when a social blunder occurs, speed is the key to solving the problem.
Underneath every article humorously or awkwardly depicting social media mistakes is one giving advice on how to avoid these. Their preponderance, and large variety of advice, can lead some businesses astray. Cut through the noise and learn how to prepare yourself with these tips that are proven to work.
Here’s how:
Prevent mistakes from occurring in the first place.
As basic as this one sounds, a little research goes a long way. The next time you see a trending hashtag on Twitter, ensure you fully understand the meaning and message behind it.
Take, for example, DiGiorno’s famous Twitter fail. In an effort to join the social media conversation, they mistakenly used a hashtag used to bring awareness to the very serious problem of domestic violence. Their joke failed to hit home. As you could expect, the Twitterverse jumped on them immediately. Save yourself the trouble and do your research.
Have a Disaster Plan.
Your local fire department encourages you to meet with your family often to go over an emergency preparedness plan. The same should apply to your company’s marketers. Having a plan in place, with the hopes you should never have to use it, is the best way to venture into the foray of social media.
Genuinely Apologize – Quickly. Honesty is the best policy when trying to make amends for a mistake that you made. By clearly and frankly explaining to your audience why a post was posted or why a campaign was run will allow for the healing process to begin earlier. The key centers on doing so in a timely manner, unlike the United Airlines debacle earlier this year.
Don’t Censor Negative Feedback. Trying to sweep your mistake under the rug is always a tempting thought – if only it worked. Nothing is every truly gone on social media and any attempt you make to hide it will only pour kerosene on the flames. Smuckers learned this the hard way when they tried to delete negative posts off of their Facebook page. It will only cause a bigger problem for you in the long run.
Show You Learned from Your Mistake. This final part of the disaster recovery plan will require the most creativity depending on your business. Your audience wants to know that you have a plan in place to prevent this from happening in the future – show them. Create a new organization in your business. Establish internal controls. Or, go the route JetBlue airlines did when too many customers complained of long waits on the tarmac when they published the Customer Bill of Rights to win back consumer’s trust. Demonstrating your efforts to improve will go miles with your customers – just make sure you do so in a timely manner.
The final part of the disaster recovery plan will require the most creativity depending on your business. Your audience wants to know that you have a plan in place to prevent this from happening in the future – show them. Create a new organization in your business. Establish internal controls. Or, go the route JetBlue airlines did when too many customers complained of long waits on the tarmac when they published the Customer Bill of Rights to win back consumer’s trust. Demonstrating your efforts to improve will go miles with your customers – just make sure you do so in a timely manner.
