What To Do When a Tweet Goes Rogue: Two Real-Life Examples

When it comes to communicating professionally using social media, everyone claims to be an expert. But the truth is, we’re all just learning as we go along. It’s always nice to learn the best way to handle a specific social media boo-boo from others who have gone before you. Today’s lesson in social media is brought to us by Chrysler and the American Red Cross. What do you do when a personal tweet including questionable language accidentally gets published to a branded moniker?

Example # 1 – American Red Cross

A few weeks ago, a Red Cross employee mistakenly sent a personal alcohol-related tweet using the @RedCross account instead of her own. Since I know you’re curious, the original tweet stated: “Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head’s Midas touch beer . . . when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd.” I’m sure Dogfish Head Brewery and Nicki Minaj were excited about the attention, but the Red Cross certainly wasn’t.

The message was deleted and replaced with a new one that said, “We’ve deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we’ve confiscated the keys.” The Red Cross employee who posted the initial tweet later used her personal account to explain the mistake resulted from a misuse of HootSuite. The Red Cross handled the situation quickly and with a sense of humor. The incident got some attention, but it actually reflected pretty positively on the Red Cross. I’m sure the employee was reprimanded, but the Red Cross said she won’t be fired over the incident.

As a side note, this offers up another good example of taking advantage of social media opportunities. Dogfish Head Brewery is encouraging fans to donate to the Red Cross and use the hashtag #gettngslizzerd when they do. No word if Nicki Minaj is doing anything similar.


Example # 2 – Chrysler

Just this week another employee sent out an accidental tweet. This time a tweet from a corporate Chrysler account criticized Detroit motorists’ driving skills and included a curse word. Chrysler initially responded with a tweet stating the account had been “comprised” and then followed up with a blog post apologizing for the incident and stating the employee responsible for the errant tweet at the media strategy firm that handles the Twitter account had been fired. Yesterday, Chrysler split with the social media company entirely. They have received a number of comments criticizing them for what is being seen as an overreaction.


So, what can we learn from these two examples?


1. Be very careful if you’re managing personal and professional social media accounts at the same time.


2. Own up to your mistakes honestly. Even though Chrysler didn’t know where the tweet came from, rather than saying the account was “compromised,” they could have simply said, “we don’t know where that came from, but we’re looking into it.” Reflection on crisis communications proves that being coy and dishonest never works out better than sharing as much information as you can, even if it’s not a lot.

3. If people think you’re overreacting, it can really blow a small mistake into a full-blown controversy. Granted, it can be challenging to juggle wanting people to see that you’re taking the situation seriously and still use a little bit of humor to address the issue and move on.

As always, think about the potential ramifications of how you go about handling a crisis, and hopefully these two examples will get everyone thinking about how their brand would handle a “rogue” tweet.

~ Nicole

Comparing Social Media Tools

Recently, one of our clients wanted to get our counsel on how they should join the social media ecosystem. After telling them about the new ways for them to connect with their audiences and share their messages, we created an appropriate strategy based on their resources, audiences and goals. Not every social media tool or network is right for every client, and we want to make sure that we match them up appropriately.

I have created a chart to help with determining the best social media network or tool to use for your audience with information on Facebook, LinkedIn, NING, Twitter, Four Square, YouTube and Flickr. Obviously there are tons more out there, but these sites come up most frequently in client conversations. At a quick glance, you can see what popular social networking sites are, audience demographics, how individuals use the site, how companies use the site, what the site is best for and some general comments.

I hope this helps other people out there as they explore social media tools and networking sites to include in their social media plan.

~ Nicole



Click on the image for a larger view.



Making Money Off Tweets

A friend of mine told be about this article he read, Stars Get Paid to Tweet

He then ranted and raved about how some bimbo starlet was getting up to $10,000 for each tweet she wrote.

“What’s the world coming to?!” he asked.

I said, “You aren’t really mad, you are just jealous you can’t do it too.”

He said, “Hell, you’re right – that gal is a genius!”

Once again proving that America is a great place to live and Twitter is just another example of how anything can be turned into a money-making opportunity. To anyone reading this - I'll only charge $100 per tweet.


Ken

How Newspapers can use Social Media to Save Themselves

It's all over the headlines . . . the demise of the newspaper industry at the hands of social media. Now it may seem counterintuitive, but newspapers can leverage social media tools to boost their circulation, and hopefully their profits. How exactly do newspapers successfully use social media? I found this great list from Woody Lewis.



1. Twitter headline feeds
With more than 280,000 followers, the New York Times’ main Twitter feed dwarfs the Wall Street Journal (19,000+), the Washington Post (4,800+), and the Chicago Tribune (5,200+). Many metropolitan and small-town dailies have followed suit, creating a Twitter handle as an extension of their brand, but the Times, like other large dailies, has gone one step further, establishing channels for Books, Arts and Entertainment, and other sections.





2. Acquiring providers of social media services
In November, 2008, Gannett Co., publisher of 85 daily newspapers, acquired Ripple6, Inc., maker of a social networking platform that links marketers to end users. By investing in a company that has already helped Procter & Gamble with its social media initiatives, Gannett will be better able to collaborate with its advertisers.


3. Creating more online events to attract readers
The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) introduced a thematic Web site last month to promote the translation of The Kindly Ones, a controversial novel that has generated a lot of publicity in Europe, and more recently the U.S. By posting streaming video and a downloadable mp3 of a popular actor reading chapters from the book, and then creating daily discussion forums around related topics, FAZ generated a significant increase in traffic to its Web site.


4. Promoting and monetizing user-generated content
In 2007, the Cincinnati Enquirer created CaptureCincinnati.com, a photo-sharing site where over a thousand local photographers uploaded nearly 12,000 images. The best shots were featured in Capture Cincinnati, a coffee table photo book that included a DVD, selling at a retail price of $39.95. Last year, the numbers continued to improve, and the Enquirer expects strong sales of the 2008 edition as well.

5. Story-based communities
The Toronto Globe and Mail uses Cover It Live, a live-blogging/discussion tool that provides interactive coverage of breaking news and live events such as conferences and hearings. Real-time comments, audio and video postings, and polls are among the types of content that can be recorded and then embedded in the story, like this piece on a subway shooting in January.


6. Collaborative outsourced news services
While British startup Yoosk bills itself as an “interactive news magazine,” it represents the type of outsourced service many newspapers may wind up using as their own resources dwindle. Yoosk allows its users to put a question to politicians and celebrities, to comment on the publicly viewable answers, and to submit their own ideas for interview features. Its founders hope to collaborate with established news sites, including newspapers willing to outsource parts of their magazine sections.

7. Customized delivery
MediaNews Group, publisher of such major dailies as the Denver Post and Oakland Tribune, has announced plans to test a “customized news delivery service called ‘I-News’ or ‘Individuated News” this summer with the LA Daily News. This service would allow subscribers to choose from different categories, including news from other parts of the country. Blending the offerings of regional newspapers into a separate platform may help more of them survive.

8. Branded communities
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has launched MySTLtoday, a branded community featuring areas such as user-created groups, user-posted content, and special interest sections like St. Louis’ BestBridal. Excerpts from shared stories are printed each week in the legacy paper. This might seem old-school, but it strengthens a traditional middle American brand, and it promotes more interaction, which helps advertisers pinpoint their targets.





9. Publishing APIs for third-party developers
The New York Times has taken the lead in an area sure to attract other organizations. By publishing application programming interfaces, or APIs, for third-party software developers, the Times Developer Network has encouraged the creation of a new class of social media applications. Developers have already produced mashups that combine Times content with other resources. Advertisers should see new opportunities to embed messages tailored to the end user, and the Times may partner with those developers it deems worthy, avoiding the incremental cost of creating new applications internally.
UK’s The Guardian has announced similar plans to open up its content with Open Platform.


10. Burning the boat that brought you
Unfortunately, this isn’t the most agreeable method for many, but social media applied to a smaller, virtual organization might be the way of the future. As reported here last week, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer may move to an online-only version of its daily newspaper. This is the ultimate way to save a paper through social media: make the Web its only channel of distribution, and leverage the history of the brand. Loyalty won’t be hard to track, and the test of that loyalty will be the price point established by subscriptions, for individual sections or the entire publication. The argument “would you save this paper for the price of a latte?” becomes very cogent, especially in Seattle.

~ Nicole

h/t Woody Lewis

Reporting live . . . via Twitter

Earlier this month I gave a talk on social media at a Contra Costa Public Information Network meeting and demonstrated Twitter. I gave a few examples of how communications professionals and journalists are using Twitter to show that it's not just about people telling their friends about what they had for lunch or that their cat is taking a nap. I just read a great example of a journalist utilizing Twitter to do an outstanding job of beat reporting. Here's what BeatBlogging said about Ron Sylvester, a court reporter for The Wichita Eagle, who has been "reinventing court coverage with Twitter:" Sylvester tweets what is happening during the trial and provides insight into the trial itself. Sylvester is using social media and his blog to transform how newspapers cover trials. No longer is Sylvester being beaten by broadcast media. Instead, his live updates from the court room beat everyone. And unlike live TV coverage of a trial, which can be overwhelming, Sylvester’s 140-character tidbits make following a trial very easy.

Sylvester’s Twitter use also proves that Twitter can be a valuable tool for journalists in less-populated, less-tech savvy areas. Many of the people that follow Sylvester’s court room tweets are not on Twitter. They’re not that interested in Twitter itself, but they are interested in the content that Sylvester produces on it. These people either follow along on Sylvester’s Twitter page or on blog where his tweets are embedded.

I wonder what communications professionals and journalists will think to use Twitter for next . . .

~ Nicole

Twitter and Brand Management: a Case Study

As communications professionals we always try to keep on top of the newest communication tools and how we can use those tools to best serve our clients needs. There’s been lot of conversation in our office lately about Twitter and it seems that we aren’t the only communications agency exploring the best ways to utilize Twitter.

For those unfamiliar with Twitter, it’s an online service enabling users to broadcast short messages (140 characters or less), known as tweets to friends or “followers.” Twitter is a form of microblogging – think of it as a combination of text messaging and blogging. Twitter is a way to engage in intimate, one-on-one communication and is another tool, for those in the world of public relations, to engage in a conversation rather than just letting it happen around you.

Johnson and Johnson recently learned how powerful a communication outlet social networking and media sites like Twitter are becoming. The company posted an ad online for Motrin, which equated carrying a baby in a sling to a painful fashion choice. By the following day, negative reactions appeared on Twitter, bloggers called for a boycott and angry comments filled up online message boards. Some of those offended even created counter ads, which they posted on YouTube. Johnson and Johnson quickly pulled the ad and a company spokesperson noted on its blog that the incident showed “it needed to pay closer attention to the conversations taking place online.”

I applaud Johnson and Johnson for its quick response and the important lesson it learned from the situation. We should all learn from Johnson and Johnson’s mistake – no one can afford to ignore what’s going on online.

~ Nicole