The Dangers of Mismanaging Corporate Social Media Accounts

If there had been social media in Biblical times, David would have had no need for a well-aimed slingshot to take on Goliath; all he would have needed was 140 characters of well-crafted Twitter ammunition to bring Goliath to his knees. Case in point: the brief but detrimental Twitter battle that took place recently between McDonald’s and the How Things Work Twitter accounts, in which How Things Work was the indisputable victor, all because of an imprudent tweet by the fast-food powerhouse.

https://twitter.com/ThingsWork/status/506475134845452289

McDonald’s vs. How Things Work
After How Things Work tweeted a GIF showing how unappetisingly McDonald’s chicken nuggets are made, McDonald’s decided to hit back four days later (the equivalent of a decade in social media time) with the following snarky response: “#FALSE Please stop spreading this bad information about our good food.” The reply included a link to a McDonald’s-prepared clip of how their nuggets ‘actually’ get made – what McDonald’s embarrassingly failed to realise was that the clip was the very same one used by How Things Work to create the offending GIF.
Once this was promptly pointed out by How Things Work, there was yet another long, awkward silence from McDonald’s followed by a weak reply accusing the GIF of not showing the full picture.

https://twitter.com/ThingsWork/status/507929856114720768

Leave social media marketing to the experts
While not a cataclysmic Twitter war, the incident serves as yet another example of how carefully corporate social media accounts need to be handled. While Twitter, Facebook and Instagram can be a business’ best ally, they can also be their worst enemies if not used as part of a well-structured and properly implemented social media strategy.

To avoid making a similar Twitter faux pas, it’s important to develop targeted, purposeful social media marketing campaigns, where tweets and status updates are crafted with a specific marketing goal in mind, not just haphazardly or when a business needs to go on the defensive.

At Point and Stare, we specialise in making the most of social media. Not only do we help businesses of all sizes raise awareness of their brand at promotional events, but we help craft highly targeted and effective marketing campaigns using the full reach and impact of social networks. We also take social media to the next level using innovative live feeds on sleek display screens that can be placed throughout events to show tweets, posts and status updates in real time, adding a dynamic flair to any corporate event. Importantly, we ensure that all live feeds are moderated, allowing any offending content to be dealt with before appearing on screens for all the world to see. This is what it means to do social media right, with care and skill.

To learn more on how Point and Stare can use social media to pack extra punch in your marketing efforts or to generate hype before, during and after your corporate event, contact us today.