Existing as a brand online can be a nerve-racking experience. There are many moving parts between being seen, engagement, reputation management, and more. That’s why many business owners are hesitant to get started with a digital presence, and even more are worried about making some common online marketing mistakes. While your business likely isn’t functioning at the same level as many big-name brands, you may be surprised to find out that not only do they make mistakes, but you can learn from them. Let’s go over some big-brand bungles and some surprising successes.
Trends- Tacky or Tactical?
Social media truly is just billions of conversations across various platforms, and everyone wants to be a part of what’s getting talked about the most. Businesses can take great advantage of these conversations when they are relevant and appropriate. For example, #NationalBestFriendsDay can lead to some fun social media posts, or better still, if your business can offer a sale, product, or experience that makes for a fun best friend date. However, not all hashtags are created equal, and not doing your research or trying to hijack a hashtag and force it to work for your brand is another story entirely.
For example, check out this tweet that came from the account for a digital storefront belonging to a prominent video game developer:
“Classic PC games #WontBeErased on our watch. Yeah, how’s that for some use of hashtags.”
They used a trending hashtag to point out their classic catalog of games and even boasted about it. So, what’s the issue? The hashtag #WontBeErased was explicitly created and trending as a way for the Transgender community to combat discrimination. It’s definitely not a conversation where hocking your wares is appropriate, especially when your brand is already receiving criticism for its treatment of the same community.
A more recent example of misunderstanding a trend comes from Sony Pictures. Their recent film Morbius was poorly received in theaters but spawned a slew of memes and jokes across social media. Most notable was the phrase “it’s Morbin time .” So naturally, Sony jumped at the attention, even getting the film’s star Jared Leto to post a video with the joke. Unfortunately, they didn’t read the room and thought the attention was enough to warrant a theatrical re-release of the film and once again, it flopped. Yikes.
The internet is genuinely a tough crowd, and marketing can take as much social nuance as an in-person conversation. So pay careful attention to what conversations you are getting involved in or starting. Have an idea of what your audience is already talking about and if it’s appropriate to respond. Still, some brands have decided to fully embrace the chaos of the internet, memes and all, and because of their demographics, they succeed (or at least don’t get shamed off the internet completely).
Brands that Commit to the Bit
Many large brands have figured out that simple sales tweets will not garner any attention in the social sphere. Some brands have decided that’s ok and have fully given into the madness. These are brands big enough that when someone asks you if you saw their tweet, you would know who they are even if you hadn’t seen it. Another noticeable fact is that many of these are cheap and easy food brands, catering to the young and potentially cash-strapped.
Denny’s hit the ground running with their social media presence, creating a wild Twitter account and a Tumblr account to boot. They told their young social media expert to post the kind of content that she would post on her own account- that they wanted to embody the personal feeling of America’s Diner. And now we have tweets like this:
do you ever yearn for the soft touch of a pancake
— Denny’s (@DennysDiner) May 12, 2017
They take the latest turns of phrases that their demographic will likely see and turn them into their own. The result makes it feel like you’re getting tweets from a secondary character in a sitcom whose only personality trait is that they love breakfast food. People eat up their tweets, and then possibly a Grand Slam.
Wendy’s took a more aggressive approach and began to pick fights about and with their competitors. They even took a social media mistake from McDonalds and turned it into their success:
When the tweets are as broken as the ice cream machine. https://t.co/esdndK1iFm
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) November 24, 2017
Most recently, they replied to one of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s tweets disparaging the lunar eclipse with “Sir, this is a Wendy’s .”Degrasse Tyson’s tweet got a lot of negative attention (who insults the moon?), but Wendy’s came out on top.
What’s the takeaway here? Nearly every social media account can benefit from some humor; just make sure you know your demographic. If your audience isn’t going to be “in on” whatever the kids are saying these days, stay away from those turns of phrase in your posts. As far as dunking on your competition? Unless you’re both influential household names, we’d recommend against it. Unless you’re starting a friendly back-and-forth with an amicable company, as we’ve seen in funny marquee sign fights. The key is to clash with someone you aren’t competing for business with.
Remember, your business’s online presence is an extension of yourself. So put as much thought into it as you would when meeting customers face to face. Pay attention to the conversations around you and know how aware your audience is, and you’ll be fine.
Are you still struggling to find the right voice for your business online? Schedule a 45-minute strategy session today!
