I feel for the social media agency rep who was fired by Chrysler this month for writing disparaging remarks about Detroit. That rep not only lost his job but his error was smeared across the traditional news. Gilbert Gottfried also caught heat this month when he made jokes about Japan. While wrong, he is a comedian and comedians tend to push the line on current events and topics we don't talk about. It's kind of what they do. So when Aflac axed him, his Twitter jokes had cost him a pretty penny I'm sure. (I had no idea he was their spokesperson in the first place).So what can you do to make sure you don't end up with a Tweet mishap? Here are a few tips:
1. Put your client/work Twitter handle on a separate app then your personal Twitter account. With so many Twitter apps out there, you have plenty of options and you can make sure you don't have the wrong account selected before you tweet. It's actually quite easy to do, especially on mobile.
2. Know who is handling your account. I've heard too many people say: "We'll just give this duty to an intern." Would you let an intern produce your TV ad? How about design your point of sale? Twitter, or any social media for that matter, can reach large amounts of people quickly, and traditional media seems to love to highlight social mishaps which translates into more bad press.
3. Check out your spokesperson before you sign them up. Twitter allows us a sneak peek into celebrities lives more than ever. Follow them for a bit and see what types of things they post before you engage with them in an offline deal. If you don't like what they say before you sign the contract you probably won't like it after.
Final words of advice - be kind. We're all human and I guarantee we're all going to have a social blunder somewhere along the way. You know just like how we all have our email nightmare stories - replying to all, copying the wrong person, etc. When it happens take the necessary steps but try to be gentle.
Any other tips?