Facebook’s trending items recently notified me of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s impending divorce. While the details of their divorce are arbitrary (and frankly, uninteresting and none of our business anyway), I came across an interesting article about how celebrities go about issuing professional break-up statements through their publicists.
During the article, PR agent Rob Shuter made note of something that got my attention. He said that he believes that in the next few years, more and more celebrities will no longer issue statements through a publicist as Affleck and Garner did when announcing their divorce, but instead will make statements in their own voices over social media.
Against the guidance of their PR agents, more often than not, celebrities do act as their own publicists over Twitter, and this sometimes comes with very real, cringe-worthy consequences. We’ve all seen it, but what can we learn from it as content creators and social media managers?
When it comes to a brand, the hope is that its team knows better and can avoid these kinds of mistakes by practicing proper social media etiquette. In case anyone needs a refresher, let’s use these five celebrity Twitter fails as a learning lesson for what brands definitely shouldn’t do:
Cher
In general, Cher’s Twitter account is a ray of nonsensical sunshine. That being said, can you even imagine a brand sending out strange, haiku-like Tweet filled with emojis? Only if it was Clickhole. When tweeting for your brand, make sure your message is clear and concise. Twitter may be a platform full of mixed users from different backgrounds, but that doesn’t give brands the leeway to start creating content lacking professionalism. Get to the point, and remember: Brands represent a collective voice, not just one person. You may like tweeting in only emojis, but this shouldn’t be true of your brand.
Drake Bell
Drake Bell, an increasingly irrelevant celebrity from a long-canceled Nickelodeon show, recently decided to put his two cents in after Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover was released. Bell was quickly met with backlash and later forced to issue a public apology for his Twitter behavior. Don’t be like Drake (be like this Drake), and avoid weighing in on hot topics when searching for timely content. Mistakes like this have previously happened with big brands like DiGiorno and left many people shaking their heads at the brand’s lack of competency. For most brands, it’s better to remain silent and leave the weighing-in for those Twitter users not affiliated with a business.
Mary J. Blige
Oof, Mary. A prime example why spellcheck is always necessary, even if it’s only for a 140-character message. Always proofread your content before you send it out, and double-check it when you’re scheduling. It also never hurts to have another set of eyes look over your content before the scheduling even begins.
Rita Ora
This tweet made the rounds because of the lack of engagement it received, despite Rita Ora’s thousands of followers. While Ora later issued a statement saying her Twitter had been hacked, we all know what really (probably) happened.
The lesson here is don’t make big promises you can’t keep. If you have 500 followers, don’t promote a contest that requires the engagement of three times that many people. Keep your sights set within your limit. Offer a quantifiable prize. For example, if you have 900 followers, offer a give-away to the first ten people who RT you. Better safe than sorry.
Shia LaBeouf
Use common sense. If you’re going to tweet something, make sure it won’t harm your brand’s image by painting it in a bad light or calling attention to something that could open it up to ridicule.
DO IT! JUST DO IT!
Seriously, just use your brain. If you have to deeply consider if you should or shouldn’t send out content, then you probably shouldn’t.
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Hurrdat is a Lincoln, Neb. digital marketing agency specializing in social media and content marketing. The company was founded in 2010 and merged with B² Interactive of Omaha, Neb. in 2014 bringing even more digital marketing specialties to both firms’ clients. Together they provide a full range of social media, SEO, and website development services to both national brands and local clients. The companies employ more than 75 people in Nebraska and have won multiple awards for their business efforts, company culture, and clients’ campaigns.
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