Social Media: Don’t be a mindless company

Your five-year old (plus or minus a few) Facebook and Twitter accounts are growing up and so should you! First rule of Facebook and Twitter (and no, it’s not to never talk about Facebook or Twitter), is to think about it. Posting may be a mindless activity to your company at this point, but maybe it shouldn’t be.
 
On Facebook, people have profiles; we in the marketing world have pages. We use our brand to create pages that put our companies and products in a beautiful light. If only it always worked out like that… Sometimes instead of social media creating a rose covered path for a company, it creates a muddy disaster.
 
How many stories have you heard about someone accidently tweeting for their company instead of on their own personal account? Kitchen Aid after Obamas election is one of the first that comes to mind.
 
When your company decides to plunge into a social media campaign or take a look at the one they already have…make sure you are informed first. If you are not informed then keep it simple. For most companies it is safe to not take a political stance, for example. If your company sells shoes, make a democratic and republican shoe while red and blue are in…. just don’t pick a favorite. Stay Simple.
 
For the actual people in the companies: forget the jokes and be smart. In 2011 when Gilbert Gottfried, Aflac spokesperson tweeted:I just split up with my girlfriend, but like the Japanese say “They’ll be another one floating by any minute now,” after the tsunami and earthquake…he was fired instantly. Don’t do that…stay simple.
 
And as mentioned, make sure you are logged into your personal, not the company, account before you post anything at all. You can’t say anything that could even possibly be offensive or taken as inappropriate online. So if you have friends who might hack your pages as a joke…delete them now. It makes your social media experience less of a headache.
 
As your company becomes well-known, you are at a higher risk of being hacked. Even if it’s a hack…it’s hard to come back from the unforgiving wildfire that social media can be. Be safe. Remember Chrysler tweeting that no one in Detroit can f—ing drive?
 
As a rule of thumb, your company should have a list of social media expectations as well as a social media disaster toolkit. If you don’t have a social media disaster toolkit, download ours and get started.