As I’ve pointed out in previous blog posts, social media blunders have become common place in today’s online marketing world. A quick Google search for the phrase offers no shortage of both recent and past incidents.
Twitter seems to make these sort of slip-ups even easier. While it can also be an excellent outlet to communicate with consumers and spread your brand, the many mistakes made by companies and organizations since Twitter’s explosion of popularity are undeniable.
Surprisingly enough, some of these blunders actually offer a mixed bag of results.
Take Chrysler Autos’ Twitter incident from March 2011 for example. The @ChryslerAutos account posted an unflattering tweet about Detroit drivers, topped off with the infamous F-bomb, to its 0ver 7,500 followers at the time.
“I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to [expletive] drive,” read the tweet, though it was deleted shortly after.
Chrysler was quick to offer an apology through the same account.
Our apologies – our account was compromised earlier today. We are taking steps to resolve it.
— Chrysler Autos (@ChryslerAutos) March 9, 2011
How did this happen? Well, it was a mistake that still happens frequently to this day. Chrysler admitted in a blog post that the tweet was the result of an employee of the their social media agency, New Media Strategies. The employee likely confused his/her personal account with the corporate account they had access too. The employee has since been fired.
The interesting thing in this case is that in light of the incident, Mashable.com noted that the @ChryslerAutos account actually gained a number of Twitter followers. A year and a half later, the account stands at over 37,000 followers.
Of course, not all of those are a direct result of the questionable tweet. But, I still think the result raises serious questions about how some of these situations can ultimately have a positive impact. Most companies are still probably better off safe than sorry.
Is a minor blunder worth a big jump in followers? For some, it might just be.
7:45 PM - 9-24-2012
It almost seems like Twitter users appreciated the unintentional honesty. That being said, a dangerous image gamble like that is never wise. This is one of those “Twilight Zone” freak occurances that shouldn’t be able to happen.