On 18th March we have the International Awkward Moments Day. It's a day to celebrate the embarrassing moments we have all had. Maybe you had a time when you accidentally posted an unflattering selfie. Fortunately, you could easily delete it, keep your reputation mostly intact and laugh it off.
However, it isn't so easy for corporations who make social media mistakes. Some of them attempt to fix their mistakes, but once they have pressed the "post" or "send" button and already have millions of followers see their content, it is just too late. Blunders can seriously harm a company's reputation.
Let’s take a look at six awkward social media mistakes.1. Benetton – No girls allowed
Benetton posted on Instagram a picture of 3 boys modelling the brand's clothes. The caption would say "Sorry ladies. Girls not allowed!". While Benetton probably thought that it was a catchy and playful caption, many followers didn't take it so well. Not only did they think it was sexist, but the advert excluded half of their potential customers. Not a clever move when you sell clothes that can be unisex. While social media can be a great way to attract customers, it can also drive them away.
2. Dove – Transformation
Dove posted a video on Facebook of a black woman turning into a white woman after taking off her t-shirt and supposedly using Dove's body lotion. This advert had a lot of negative responses, suggesting that Dove was sending a racist message. Even though the brand apologised and said that they intend to represent all types of women, pictures of the advert were circulated on social media, damaging their reputation further.
3. Miele – Women’s Day
Miele, a German home appliances company, posted an advert to promote Women's Day. They displayed four women sitting on washing machines, looking excited about doing laundry, with a caption saying: "May all women remember to embrace what makes them unique!". The advert received criticism for representing an old stereotype at an especially inappropriate time. A post with good intentions that sent the wrong message.
4. Adidas – Insensitive emails after Boston Marathon
In 2017, Adidas sent out emails to runners of the Boston Marathon with the subject line "Congratulations, you survived the Boston Marathon". This received backlash on social media for being insensitive after the bombing at Boston Marathon in 2013. Another tongue in cheek joke that wasn't completely thought through.
5. LG – Our phones don't bend
After some owners of the iPhone 6 had issues with their phone bending in their pocket, LG France wanted to make fun of their competitors. LG posted on Twitter: "Our phones don't bend; they are naturally curved". However, right at the bottom of the post was written "posted from an iPhone", undermining their advertising. The post wasn't upsetting to potential customers unlike the other examples, but it was awkward and clumsy.
6. Burger King – Offer for women who get pregnant by World Cup players
Burger King posted on VK - a Russian social networking site like Facebook – that it would offer free burgers for life and 3 million Russian roubles (roughly £36, 000) to women who got pregnant by World Cup football players. The idea behind it was that these women could then pass on genes from football stars to future generations to benefit the Russian team. The advert grabbed a lot of attention and was quickly shared across social media platforms, but not much of that attention was positive.
Lessons to learn
There are some lessons we can learn from these social media blunders so that we can avoid awkward mistakes and not drive potential customers away. Make sure to think twice about the connotations of the message you're sharing. After pressing "send" or "post" it is just too late, especially when information spreads faster than ever. Make sure to not exclude any group or upset people from your audience. Use the right words and make sure you check with your team before anything goes out there. Because corporate social media mistakes are more than just awkward – they're bad for business.
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