Top Social Media Fails

What a wonderful tool social media can be for a company, when done right. When done wrong, it can leave a lot of heads shaking in disbelief. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have grown in popularity with companies of all sizes. It is now common to see social media managers who control the operations of these accounts. When a social media post takes a turn for the worst, we can’t help but wonder what was going on in the minds of these social media savvy pros. These top social media fails will make you scream, “Come on, what were you thinking!?”

US Airways Twitter Fail

US Airways took a different approach to, “the customer is always right” when they replied back to a customer’s complaint with a not-so-kid friendly picture. It's so bad, we don't even feel comfortable describing it, but if you really want to find it, a simple Google search will bring it up.

Many people have had a slip of their finger and accidently posted something that wasn’t meant for their followers. That is exactly what happened to the US Airways twitter, but instead of instantly removing the inappropriate graphic, the post stayed up for an hour before removal. An apology followed the removal, but that didn’t stop the tweet from going viral, making it very hard for the person behind the account to forget and move on from their mistake.

Now US Airways has merged with American Airlines and it is safe to say that their social media accounts are now in different hands. You are safe to follow them again!

IHOP’s social media strategy isn’t one to follow

This social media fail is a little different, because IHOP was well aware what was happening on their social media accounts. They clearly didn’t think about the reactions that could possibly come from mixing their social media strategy with 6^th grade humor. You all remember jokes like, “butter face” or simply insulting a women’s figure. That is what IHOP did, but instead of talking about an actual woman, they included a picture of pancakes. Many people still didn’t find that very funny.

These tweets stayed up for about an hour until a lot of criticism came tweeting IHOP’s way. These finally made the business think, “Hmm, maybe this wasn’t a very funny joke”.

You now have seen how social media can do some harm to a company when not done right. With social media having such a large presence in a brands identity, it is very important to double-check what it is about to be posted or in these cases, give it a triple-check.

Written by Mimi Rosenberg of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Account Switching Available on Instagram

Good news, multi-Instagram account users – you can now switch between multiple accounts on Instagram! With the rising popularity of the app, it was only a matter of time until the feature was introduced. After months of testing on both iOS and Android, the company has recently officially announced the feature!

“Starting this week, you can quickly and easily switch between multiple accounts on Instagram!” The Instagram Help Center goes into more detail and provides users with a step-by-step process on how to add more than one account. Here’s how to do it:

- Go to your profile and tap the settings icon: 

- Scroll down and tap Add Account (this will be close to the bottom by “Log Out” and “Clear Search History)

- Enter the username and password of the account you’d like to add

Yep, it’s that easy! This process can be repeated to add up to five different accounts on the app.

Users have been giving a lot of positive feedback about the feature already, as it makes handling multiple accounts for personal and professional use much easier. Before the feature, those with multiple accounts would have to use third-party apps to easily switch between different profiles.

The feature is supported with Instagram version 7.15 for iOS and Android. Social media business owners rejoice!

Written by Samantha Velotta from Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Using Pinterest Analytics for a Stronger Marketing Campaign

Pinterest, the visually oriented social media site, is no longer just for planning weddings and finding healthy recipes. The social media site is estimated to have approximately 40 million active monthly users and is continuing to grow. A lot of people use the site for pleasure, but, if used strategically, it can be a great marketing tool for businesses.

Marketing your business on Pinterest may seem like a daunting task, but Pinterest analytics makes the process smooth and the results easy to comprehend. For business accounts, Pinterest offers analytics that provide insight into information about the business’ audience, the audience’s preferences, and referral traffic. Specifically, Pinterest analytics provide information on your audience, including specifics like gender and location. Additionally, the analytics also provide information about your audience’s interests, allowing you to tailor your posts to meet the interests of the audience. The analytics can also tell you what pins and boards of yours are most popular and what people save from your website. Additionally, analytics tracks how much traffic your website gets after you add the “Pin It” button to your site.

If your business involves selling products, Pinterest can be a great test-run for your items. If you pin images of your products, Pinterest analytics will tell you which of the pins are the most popular, essentially forecasting which of your products will be the most successful. On your analytics profile page, you can also see your 50 most repinned pins and your boards with the most repins. Pinterest also offers free marketing advice, providing tips on your analytics page based on your data from the analytics.

Pinterest is a growing social network and is extremely unique. Utilizing Pinterest’s sophisticated analytics tools can help you market your business by providing invaluable feedback about your audience and the things your audience is interested in. Looking at your Pinterest analytics and utilizing that information to alter your marketing strategy can make your business’s marketing campaign more successful. 

Written by Samantha Weisner of Rebecca Adele PR & Events