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By Alexis McNeal (@AmcnealUOAd)
It is taught over and over again from kindergarten to high-school, “If you don’t have
anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all.” However, companies and brands around the world seem to let that childhood message slip their minds when speaking to the public. In our highly active social media based society, it is hard for brands to fathom the magnitude that even one tweet could have on a companies reputation, potentially making or breaking a brands status.
After the Houston Rockets hard-earned playoff series win over the Dallas Mavericks, the teams twitter account posted a tweet that was not quite family, or animal, friendly.
This tweet sent thousands of people in defense, taking the tweet as being offensive not only to the Mavericks but to animals in general. Activists speaking on behalf of euthanasia came out with angry replies toward the team saying that their tweet was insensitive and immoral.
After the massive back lash from the simple emoji driven tweet, the Houston Rockets’ twitter soon deleted the content and issued an apology to their opposing team and public saying “Our Tweet earlier was in very poor taste & not indicative of the respect we have for the @dallasmavs & their fans. We sincerely apologize.”
Is it surprising that one tweet with just two emojis and a phrase can send people into such defense? It goes to show how careful companies have to be when they post on social media, no matter if it is a 10 page press release or a 140 character tweet. One bad tweet has the ability to give consumers a bad taste in their mouths about a brand in seconds. If they companies can’t avoid situations like this one above, they have to learn how to bounce back from it and take the necessary steps to getting back on their feet and patching up their reputation. After everything is out in the open it turns to not being about what the brand said, but about how they react to the back lash they are taking. “Mistakes are inevitable”, says the president of Internal Talent Management (ITM) and author at hrbartender.com, Sharyn Lauby “It’s not about “if” something will happen; it’s about “when.” In this transparent, authentic and real-time world, expect a hiccup to occur. But be prepared.” If companies are able to create a solid crisis relief plan, their company has a higher potential of bouncing back from a crisis much faster than a company without a plan.
Do you think that the Houston Rockets damage control was enough for the given situation?
Alexis,
You raise a very interesting point about how humor and context can sometime be misconstrued over social media. I personally did not find the tweet to be offensive, but I could see why others would have been offended. It is hard for organizations to use humor over social media without being controversial or offensive. Do you think organizations need to have a checks and balances system in place to monitor what goes out on social media before it is posted? Or do you think people who post on the social media accounts should have total autonomy?
Natalie,
I definitely agree, it is hard for brands/ companies to use humor without taking it “too far” or their jokes being taken for something they were not. I think that each company should definitely have some sort of filtering system in order to decide what to put out into the public, for the brands sake. If they are posting on behalf a brand then they should encompass that brand. Thanks for your comment!
Alexis,
Just like Natalie, I did not find the tweet offensive. Sure everyone interprets things, especially humor, differently. But I also think that in today’s day of age people like to “stir the pot” and create controversy where there does not need to be. In this tweet, it is obvious that the Houston Rockets were not condoning the killing of animals in any way. Because of that, I think that how they handled the situation was good enough.
Like I previously mentioned, everyone interprets humor differently. Everything you say, tweet, or post online has the possibility of offending someone. Even a simple text message can make you think a friend is mad at you or being mean depending on how you choose to read the message. Although easier said than done, I believe people need to take things more lightly and not interpret everything negatively.
Bri-
I totally agree. People definitely like to attack large brands and ‘stir the pot’ as you mentioned since they are easy targets and people can see them as evil or controlling. I think the larger the brand the more people want to find things wrong with them in order to make them seem less powerful or more human. Humor can definitely easily be misinterpreted and companies just need to somehow try and find the middle ground, or just decide to do things their own way and realize they can never please everybody.
Wow, apparently their social media manager was fired after the incidence. Like Bri and Natalie, I personally don’t find the tweet offensive. I don’t think the mistake was so bad that the social media manager should be fired. I don’t know.
And this should not be the reason that companies should stop using humor on social media. Good humor makes a company memorable. Just make sure the joke is tasteful. And on the audience’s side, depending on the context, people should take things more lightly and avoid being too oversensitive.
Alexis,
I think you bring up a great point with your post. Even a tweet with only 2 emojis and a few words can create huge controversy and can become an issue for a brand or company. In today’s society, emojis have become a form of communication and can create just as much damage as words. I think a situation like this is easier to manage and apologize for, versus a large crisis. I see this as more of a stupid mistake and an issue rather than a crisis. This brings up an interesting point, though, on the use of emojis for communication through social media.
I agree, I think it is definitely more of an issue or a dumb mistake than a crisis. However, some people wanted to try and make it more of a crisis by bringing animal cruelty into it and trying to make it seem like something bigger than it was.
Alexis,
It is a very interesting point to bring up the conversation of failure on social media. Although I didn’t find the tweet offensive, I do agree with you that anything post on social media would “potentially making or breaking a brand status”, no matter it is a long page press release or two emojis. The example of Houston Rockets’s failure on this tweet gave a lesson: any format of contents post on social media does represent your brand, so be careful about what you say on social media. Social media could help the brand use more effective way to spread words out; at the same time, it is also able to ruin the brand in a speed that faster than what you can imagine.
Thank you for your comments. I personally was not offended by the tweet as well but it definitely goes to show how careful companies have to be, especially large brands since people have their eyes glued on them every moment watching for their mistakes or hiccups.
I think it is interesting to watch companies find the balance between find having a human friendly voice and having too much of a friendly voice. It’s important for companies and social media managers to realize that something that might be funny shared between friends is not always funny shared from a corporate brand. Especially when a couple of words or emojis can make or break a brand in a matter of seconds. Businesses can be casual and fun but they have to know the line that their audience has drawn with their comfort level. I would say be fun and on trend but be smart and remember to protect your brand.
I totally agree when you say that businesses should be fun and on trend but be smart and protect their brand. It is definitely a balance that is hard for many companies to find, especially because you never know how certain people are going to react to your humor since so many people have opinions about what is funny. If companies can find that happy medium between personality and business, I think that is the best place to stay, it’s just hard to find it.
Alexis,
I find these types of “rogue” tweets fascinating! The fact that we live in a digital world has created a shift in how businesses interact with their audience. The saturation and usage of social media within a company’s business strategy can be extremely valuable but also creates a sense of vulnerability in regard to public perception and approval. The Houston Rocket’s tweet was a perfect example of how a simple human error can shift the way an entire group of people perceive you. I also agree with your statement that mistakes happen and what sometimes counts more is the way an organization or brand deals with the aftermath of a foolish tweet. Thanks for sharing!
Jaira-
I think they are really interesting too, I’m glad you enjoyed it! It is crazy how something so small can make your brand so vulnerable in the blink of an eye. Thanks for commenting!
Very interesting post! This topic is incredibly interesting, especially the commercial use of emojis. Emojis are a cultural phenomenon right now, and it is important to realize their power. I believe that this tweet was absolutely in poor taste. It is crucial for every social media director to have a sense of respect for people of all beliefs. They had to have realized that mimicking shooting an animal would offend people. While I can understand their attempt at humor, it absolutely was gone about the wrong way.
We can learn from their mistake by acknowledging the sensitivity needed when using a public social media account–especially one that has a large following. Is one joke worth the respect of a large group of people? Probably not. These are the decisions that need to be weighed before pressing that tweet button.
Ashley-
Thanks for your comment. I totally agree that other big companies can learn from their mistake and maybe take that extra moment to make sure that their social media content is sensitive enough. However, companies also need to remember that they can’t please every body. I think that is one of large businesses biggest problems. They have to try to define the line of sensitivity and straying too far from their brand voice.
Alexis, I’m curious to know what you thought about Domino’s recent Twitter emoji campaign? (http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/why-dominos-went-nuts-and-wrote-hundreds-tweets-almost-entirely-pizza-emojis-164732)
I agree that an emoji is worth just as much as writing out something. Do you think Dominio’s campaign was effective based on that statement?
Thanks for the post! Such an interesting concept.
Good point! I never saw this post from the Rockets, but it does seem like bad taste. I personally don’t really think emojis are that smart of an idea for corporate social media accounts because the meaning can be taken differently depending on who sees it. Although I know that people say that you should not delete social media comments, I’m glad that the Rockets deleted the post and did immediately apologize.
Hi Alexis,
I agree with you that the context of emojis can be taken the wrong way. Like the above posts, I think that there are worse things that happen in regards to organizations having bad taste. From a PR perspective the Rockets did the right thing by apologizing and deleting the post right away. But, I don’t think they needed to go as far as firing their social media manager.
Great points from everyone!
Makenzie Hammond