Social Media Fail by Red Cross

A few weeks ago in class, we discussed social media etiquette and standards of behavior for companies to follow. It's important for companies to not only be active on social media sites, but to make sure they are posting appropriately. Our professor showed us some social media "fails" from various companies. Some were quite inappropriate and offensive, but others had me laughing hysterically.

Many of the fails were on Twitter. In class, we discussed the specific etiquette for Twitter, and some of the tips are crucial for companies to follow:

• Don't over-hashtag your tweet
• Don't only discuss your company
• Don't send automatic direct messages to people that don't follow you
• Don't hijack another company's hashtag
• Don't stuff your tweets with keywords

In addition to all of these helpful tips our professor went over in class,it is very important that employees do not accidentally confuse their personal Twitter accounts with the company Twitter account. This can lead to some pretty awkward and unprofessional tweets being sent out.

I came across a pretty bad Twitter fail done by American Red Cross, and I thought this would be perfect to share this week on my blog. 

"30 Of the Most Epic Social Media Fails EVER"

As you can see, this tweet made the Red Cross look really bad. The employee who ran their Twitter page forgot to log out of the company account, and accidentally posted this inappropriate tweet referencing alcohol. This probably isn't something an organization like the Red Cross should ever post about, especially since their mission is to provide services to people in need!

It's important for companies to use social media sites, as long as they are posting appropriately! They need to be very careful what they are posting, because it can affect their reputation and image to potential and current customers. No one wants to see tweets about "getting slizzred" on the American Red Cross page!