Many business have embraced Twitter as an advertising tool. However, some marketing campaigns have offended customers and created a negative backlash.
Storified by cmanghan · Sat, Apr 19 2014 10:00:39
Created by four friends in 2006, Twitter has grown to 230 million users who tweet a half a billion tweets a day. The site allows users to share their thoughts in 140 character tweets that are then seen by their followers. Users can also use hashtags to connect to users tweeting about similar ideas. Twitter offers businesses the ability to easily connect and interact with customers. This, however, does not always work in favour of the business and instead creates a negative brand image among customers.
McDonalds learned this when they began their #McDStories campaign. Although originally intended for users to share positive experiences with McDonalds, users hijacked the hashtag to tell very negative and disturbing stories.
#McDStories I witnessed my co-workers drop chicken nuggets and give them to customers right after.
McDonald's had paid for Twitter to promote their campaign, but within two hours realized that it was not working as had been intended and discontinued it. However, thousands of tweets that portrayed the company in a negative way had already been sent.
Telephone company AT&T also discovered the negative effects of a failed Twitter campaign when they tweeted an advertisement that showed the iconic beams where the Twin Towers once stood displayed on an iPhone.
Although well intended, users were horrified that AT&T would use a tragedy that involved the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians as an advertisement. AT&T quickly removed the tweet and apologized.
The food website Epicurious faced a similar backlash when they posted insensitive tweets after the bombings at the Boston Marathon in 2013.
Again the company issued an apology and deleted the offensive Tweet, but on Social Media once something is said it cannot be undone. Images of the Tweets were captured and spread across sites such as Mashable and Forbes. Customers were appalled and offended.
Unlike traditional marketing techniques such as billboards or television commercials, Social Media gives the consumers power, and when mistakes are made the companies no longer have control over what is being said. Furthermore, the internet allows consumers to become anonymous which gives them a level of confidence to voice negative opinions about companies without fear of retribution.
Sam Fiorella, a marketing specialist, says that although mistakes like these can harm a company's reputation, “a successful business cannot lay in fear of risk but embrace the rewards it can achieve. Brand negativity by those few you speak about will occur even if your business never logs into a social network." He adds that social media provides a platform for companies to promote a positive image.
While the the campaigns by McDonalds, AT&T, and Epicurious were offensive, Professor Jonah Berger argues that controversy may not be always be bad for business. "Controversy, then, is the proverbial double-edged sword. While a little garners attention, too much can hurt, and it may not be the type of attention most people or brands want."
Twitter gives business the ability to gain attention and communicate with their customers, and although they must try to gain customer's attention they must be careful to do so in a way that is not too controversial or offensive.
