A raft of small-scale disasters have shaken social media over the past few days, and they all have one thing in common: poor judgment. There’s something about the immediacy and brevity of Twitter and Instagram that leads brands to post with little thought to the consequences. Learn from their recent mistakes.
Adam Richman bites off more than he can chew.
What happened: When Man vs. Food host Adam Richman posted a photo on Instagram that showed off his weight loss, he used the hashtag #thinspiration. Unbeknownst to him, that term has become code for anorexics and bulimics online. A few of his followers, mostly female, pointed that fact out to him.
Richman’s responses were riddled with profanity. He called one commenter a fool, another a dummy, and told a third that he didn’t care about “haters and closed-minded internet loudmouths like you.” One lucky fan was told to “grab a razor blade & draw a bath. I doubt anyone will miss you.”
The consequences: Richman finally posted a video apology on Instagram that, for some reason, was deleted soon after. He then issued a statement to E! which read, in part, “I’ve long struggled with my body and have worked very hard to achieve a healthy weight…Instead of responding to comments with compassion, I lashed out with anger.” But it wasn’t enough: his new Travel Channel show Man Finds Food, which was supposed debut on July 2, has been pulled off the network’s schedule “indefinitely.”
The lesson: All Richman had to do was offer a brief apology to the first commenter and claim — quite reasonably — that he didn’t know the hashtag would cause any harm. Instead, he got into an unwinnable argument, cursing at his fans, and finally posting “No apology is coming,” before posting an apology.
KLM says goodbye to good sportsmanship.
What happened: On June 29, the Netherlands beat Mexico in the World Cup, eliminating them from the tournament. To celebrate, Dutch airline KLM posted a photo of an airport “Departures” sign captioned “Adios, amigos!” Snarky? Yes. A little smug? Sure. But KLM went the unnecessary extra mile by adding an icon next to the airport sign: a sombrero, mustache, and poncho.
The consequences: As with anything associated with a global sporting event, the image quickly went viral. Mexican actor Gael García Bernal tweeted that he would never fly the airline again. The next day, KLM apologized, issuing a statement that said, in part, “it was never our attention to hurt anyone’s feelings” and “In the best of sportsmanship, KLM apologizes to those who feel offended.”
The lesson: It’s OK to brag on Twitter — you could argue that it’s Twitter’s core function. But there’s no need to put others down when you do it. Show restraint and dignity after a victory…or even a loss, as we can see from the airline of the losing team. AeroMexico tweeted this in response: “Thanks for this great championship. We are proud of you and are waiting for you at home.” The accompanying image? An airport “Arrivals” sign.
FAFSA uses a “poor” choice of words.
What happened: FAFSA, the Federal Student Aid office, decided to have some fun while encouraging high school and college students to fill out their financial aid forms. They used an internet meme — a well-known image or animated gif, accompanied by a caption. Their choice was a still from the film Bridesmaids, a scene in which Kristen Wiig’s character says, “Help me, I’m poor.” FAFSA added, “If this is you, then you better fill out your FAFSA.”
The consequences: As the Washington Post points out, student aid isn’t just for “poor” students, who shouldn’t be mocked in any circumstance; many colleges require a FAFSA form from any student applying for grants or scholarships. Stigmatizing kids who are trying to attend (or stay in) college by likening them to a cloying, desperate movie character is pretty horrible. Less than a day later, FAFSA tweeted an apology: “We apologize for the insensitivity of our previous tweet. Our goal is to make college a reality for all. We’re very sorry.”
The lesson: Blogger Mikki Kendall, who first brought the tweet to light, put it best: “This is what happens when your social media rep is great at analytics & terrible with culture.” FAFSA probably thought that using a meme from a raunchy movie would garner a big response from its young audience — but didn’t consider what kind of response that would be. There are so many popular memes, there’s no reason to choose a controversial one; how about one that celebrates learning, like Chemistry Cat?
Twitter’s speed and short content may lead some brands to think they’re having casual, inconsequential conversations. Instagram, mostly used and seen on mobile devices, gives off a similar ephemeral quality. Adam Richman may have thought he was talking only to a few commenters; KLM may have thought it was speaking only to its fans; FAFSA may have thought its adolescent followers were in on the joke. But most tweets are public, and even private ones require just one follower to snap a screenshot — which remain long after the tweets are deleted.
You don’t have to plan every single post weeks in advance and send it through five round of approvals. But you should look at your content from every angle and consider how it might appear to the general public. Get a second opinion, rewrite to avoid confusion, and examine how similar posts have fared in the past. Use a little judgment and you can avoid even the smallest social media PR disaster.
Jason Ginsburg is Director of Interactive Branding at Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
