Part 2 of our Twitter marketing mistakes blog post is here! Twitter marketing is a great way to expand the reach of your marketing but it is fraught with challenges. Check out these Twitter fails and don't forget to share the best and worst tweets you have seen. Click to review Part 1.
1. Someone just included your business in an angry ranting tweet.
This is not a Twitter mistake by you, at least not yet. But have you ever heard the stories of businesses who make the mistake of going crazy in response to an angry tweet? They rant and rave at the angry tweeter, they froth at the mouth spewing angry tweets and they tell the tweeter exactly how wrong they are. Then, when the backlash begins and other Twitter users retweet their messages and make sarcastic comments, the business claims their Twitter account was hacked and they have no idea who posted all those crazy tweets. Uh... yeah.
Don't be that business! Be the business that uses an angry tweet as an opportunity to show how awesome you are at resolving customer issues. Apologize to the customer for the less than satisfactory experience and explain what you're going to do to resolve the situation. Offer a full refund, free replacement product, personalized service or other complimentary item. Then let the customer and your followers know that this is not the usual standard of your business. Let them know how you are dealing with the problem and how your business plans to avoid the same issue in the future.
2. Your auto tweeting program went haywire and tweeted the same message 500 times.
Although this is rare with quality automated Twitter solutions, it does occasionally happen. The same tweet is sent out every second for an hour, for example. To avoid this problem and keep your Twitter feed from getting out of control, check up on your account regularly. Don't just set it and forget it.
This problem is less likely to happen with a trusted solution, so do your homework when you're researching which auto tweet program is right for you. Read reviews and always try the solution before you start using it for your automated Twitter management. If you do notice anything strange happening with your tweets, contact the auto tweet solution right away. Get the problem resolved with their customer service department as soon as possible.
A feed of spammy repeated auto tweets doesn't look very professional, and you don't want your followers to think your Twitter feed is being run by a robot. Make light of the situation and try to address the problem promptly and with humor. Also, go over your scheduled auto tweets at the beginning of each week to make sure they are all still relevant and that none of them will be ill-timed.
3. You said something really stupid and now everyone is calling you out on it.
Everyone makes mistakes. As a business using social media, some of your mistakes may be a bit more public than you would like. This is especially true if you post something that you thought was alright, but it turns out to be wildly inaccurate. Or it just doesn't make sense. Or it includes information that is completely false and makes your business look like it doesn't know what it's talking about.
To avoid this issue in the future, research anything you're not sure about. Double check all dates, historical facts or current references that you are including in your tweets. Also, don't just stick in a hashtag because you see that it's trending. Find out what it's all about! People use inappropriate and irrelevant hashtags all the time because they don't know what they are actually referring to. Check out this example from Celeb Boutique.
4. You didn't address a company mistake or issue on Twitter.
When your business makes a mistake or has something big to apologize for, it's best to spread the message as far and wide as possible. Your mistake may not have anything to do with a social media snafu, but you still need to address it on social media. Apologize on Twitter as part of your overall strategy. Maintaining Twitter silence makes customers think you're trying to avoid the issue and don't want to publicly address it or take accountability. If it's a major mistake or problem, accept responsibility and explain how you're working to overcome the situation.
Let us know what you think!
Social media is a very public space. For best results, don't ever take to social media to post an angry rant, complain about another business, comment on a controversial current issue and so on. Be interesting, be relevant, be open and above all be professional!
What is the most outrageous Twitter fail you have seen? Let us know!
