Author: Heather R. Huhman / Source: Entrepreneur We've all made mistakes on social media, whether that's meant uploading the wrong pictur
We’ve all made mistakes on social media, whether that’s meant uploading the wrong picture or accidentally offending someone. Accidents happen. But when they happen to a major corporation, on a large enough scale to reach millions of people, the reputation of the brand itself may be jeopardized — and customers may have an unintended laugh at its expense.
This year, 2017, is no exception to the ongoing flurry of social media fails by major brands. So, I thought I’d take the time to collect the biggest social media fails of the year (so far) to see what we can learn about social media management:
1. United Airlines drops the ball.
If you’ve been paying attention to United Airlines, you know the company hasn’t been having a good year. Things started when passengers took (and shared) video of a man being forcibly dragged off a plane by security when he was randomly selected — and declined — to forfeit his seat for airline maintenance workers.
That alone was enough to cause an uproar on social media and tarnish the reputation of the brand, but things only got worse when CEO Oscar Munoz issued a cold, victim-blaming apology in which he praised his employees for following proper procedures. Proper procedure or not, delicate situations like this require warmth and understanding — and United Airlines wasn’t prepared to offer it.
2. Dove gives women more body issues.
Dove went viral on social media in early May — and not in a good way. In its ongoing effort to redefine popular beauty standards, Dove made a controversial move to reshape its shampoo bottles to reflect different body types. On paper, it may have looked like a good idea. But to many women, this indirectly confirmed that there was a “best” or “right” body type, after all. The question raised was, Do you choose the bottle that matches your body type?
3. Pepsi doesn’t understand that Black Lives Matter.
Pepsi missed a lot of red flags in its misguided attempt to promote its product within a frame of peace and understanding (and Kendall Jenner), and a backdrop of a protest against police brutality. Immediately, social media users called for a Pepsi boycott and accused the company of undermining the Black Lives Matter movement, and exploiting it…
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