Sure, you probably didn't see the tweet. It had already been removed. Then you read about it in a Twitter or Facebook post from a friend who shared a screenshot of the message. That way, you still had a chance to be offended, but you didn't have the rare pleasure of being one of those original offended people whose angry tweets were quoted along with the screenshot.
The time has come for these offenses to end. As a gift to brand managers, communities, and corporate lawyers, here's a checklist to follow to ensure you never offend anyone when posting on corporate social media pages.
10 Tips to Avoid Conflicts on Social Media
1. Do not mention anyone's name.
Some names are offensive. Dave and Buster's tweeted yesterday that "not even Juan" hates tacos. The brand probably knows that many people named Juan don't like tacos. Some people named Juan probably don't even like quesadillas, or especially delicious horchatas. The good news for all the Juans in the world is that there are many Johns and Janes and others on Twitter who were so offended on behalf of the Juans that the tweet was removed within an hour.
2. Pay attention to the hashtags.
It may be inappropriate and could be misinterpreted. The best example of this was when Susan Boyle's album was promoted with the hashtag ##susanalbumparty, which became a joke on Saturday Night Live. Avoid it.
3. Do not promote any type of chat.
It's possible that someone intent on offending might respond to the post. When that happens, someone monitoring the campaign might not see the offensive name, giving someone else the chance to say the brand is offensive. People won't direct their anger at the person who offended them in the first place.
4. Do not reply to or retweet anyone.
The person might be racist. Or perhaps they used some illegal drug. Or maybe they ate at a restaurant and didn't pay the 10%. They might even have opinions on same-sex marriage and immigration, and someone might disagree with those opinions. These issues can come back to haunt the brand that gives a voice to such a person.
5. Do not use any word that could have a different meaning in another language.
According to Infoplease, there are 6,500 languages. There are fewer than a thousand speakers for about 2,000 of these languages, but these people can access the internet. And that means they can offend each other in various ways, through transliterations and homonymous words.
6. Do not mention planets.
At least one of them sounds like some part of the body that isn't exposed, except when celebrity photos leak onto the internet.
7. Not every real-time marketing campaign is worthwhile.
It's not because it's offensive. Most of the time, brands don't have to say anything interesting about pop culture, memes, or news.
8. Do not share links to news articles or websites.
Why would a brand want to be associated with media outlets that cover controversial topics? For safety's sake, advertisers should keep their marketing strategy away from anything that doesn't belong to them.
9. Don't be offensive.
Yes, occasionally a corporate entity or business owner expresses opinions that offend people. It's not a good idea.
10. Hire a professional agency.
Call us now at: 44 3028-8678 or 44 9959-7348 and talk to us.
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