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Why is it that some of the nation’s largest, most well-known brands keep “screwing the pooch” with misdirected social media campaigns that either fall flat, highlight inept customer service, or practically incite a riot attempting to be provocative?
AdAge’s Matthew Yeomans recently wrote a post on why social media marketers fail to learn from their mistakes (he’s also co-authored a book on the topic). He details why the nation’s top brands keep making the same mistakes over and over and what everyone – from small business owners, to Fortune 100 executives – should do to keep them from happening again.
Here are the five key reasons companies keep making the same mistakes over and over and a breakdown on how to avoid turning a potentially successfully social media campaign into a giant #FAIL:
1. They fail to take social media complaints seriously – Waiting to respond to negative social media comments, or failing to respond at all, almost always leads to a groundswell of negativity. With the supercharged nature of social media, negative backlash can easily eclipse what you thought was a ‘cool idea.’
2. A small social media snafu spirals into a mammoth #FAIL – The company either hasn’t allocated the necessary resources/experience (read: interns) to managing social media, or it’s fallen asleep at the wheel. We can’t say it enough – leave social media management to people who,know your brand, have a stake in your business and experience managing more than simply their personal Facebook page. That could mean a qualified, engaged firm or a dedicated in-house team.
3. Companies too quickly dismiss the influence of new social media platforms – Often times, it’s easy to dismiss a new platform as a ‘flash in the pan,’ but the old adage “you don’t know until you try” is especially true with technology. Give that new platform a try (perhaps via your personal social media channels). Who knows? You might unearth a powerful brand-building tool.
4. Internal departments work in silos – When the marketing team has no idea what sales and human resources are doing, it becomes easy to turn social media into a muddled effort. More and more, a successful social media campaign relies on the buy-in of all business arms.
5. Opting to crowdsource your campaign? Be ready for anything – Some of the nation’s largest brands (McDonald’s, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola) have seen crowdsourcing (turning their campaigns over to the general public for feedback) blow up in their faces. A good rule of thumb is: think before you crowdsource.
- Marrissa
(follow me on Twitter: @marrissam)
