Community Managers: If You Have Nothing Nice to Say, Don’t Say Anything At All

Another senseless tragedy.  Another brand lacking compassion.  

More people use Twitter today than ever before, making it the place to share breaking news. Twitter’s reach is especially evident during times of crisis, when many of its 200 million users flood the network with much-needed information, real-time updates, positive thoughts and prayers. 

But without fail, it seems every major tragedy in the last year has been followed by an insensitive tweet from a brand trying to use the event to their gain.  And also without fail, this strategy backfires – each and every time – in the form of a social media crisis followed by negative press, a tarnished image and lost customers, not to mention even more upset for the families and friends of the victims.  

When tragedy suddenly strikes, organizations and their community managers must be careful not to repeat these six mistakes of their social media tone-deaf peers:  

1. Epicurious:  The morning after the devastating bombings at the Boston Marathon, food website Epicurious thought consoling Bostonians with scones and a “bowl of breakfast energy” was appropriate.  After receiving a slew of “Are you kidding me?” messages, the brand deleted the tweets and copied-and-pasted the same apology to several Twitter users – one that apologized for the tweets that “seemed insensitive.”  News flash, Epicurious: they are insensitive.

2. Adweek:  The magazine wasted no time on Monday to promote its story that ironically details how the Boston Marathon bombings underscore the need for brands to have a heart on social media.  Adweek has since removed the tweet and story, but not before outraging its followers.  (By the way, the magazine has yet to address the issue, on Twitter and elsewhere).

3. Kmart:  On the day of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Kmart tweeted its condolences, while using the hashtags #PrayforNewtown and #CTShooting with #Fab15Toys, its latest children’s toy promotion.  Kmart deleted the tweet and issued an apology – without the #Fab15Toys hashtag – 20 minutes later.

4. Gap:  As Hurricane Sandy – one of the nation’s costliest and deadliest storms in recent history – approached the East Coast, Gap asked those in the storm’s path if they would be shopping online at Gap.com.  The retailer soon deleted the tweet and posted an explanation: “To all impacted by #Sandy, stay safe. Our check-in and tweet earlier were only meant to remind all to keep safe and indoors.”

5. CelebBoutique:  The morning following the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colo., UK-based fashion retailer CelebBoutique credited the trending #Aurora hashtag to buzz surrounding its Kim Kardashian-inspired Aurora dress.  The tweet remained on CelebBoutique’s account for nearly an hour before being deleted and addressed with a tweet that lacked emotion and generated even more outrage: “We apologise for our misunderstanding about Aurora. – CB.”

6. The National Rifle Association (NRA):  Nine hours after the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colo. movie theater, the NRA – apparently unaware of the news – posted a cheery “Happy Friday, shooters!” tweet.  It took the association more than three hours to remove the tweet and issue a statement, marking just one of its hurdles in a reignited nationwide debate on gun control.

To the ever-growing number of brands using social media, be careful when choosing your community manager(s).  More importantly, when tragedy strikes, know that we only want you to do one thing: grieve with us.  Send your condolences.  Support your community.  That’s more engagement than any promotion could generate.