Luton airport have had to apologise after an employee thought it was a good idea to post a photo of a 2005 plane crash in which a child was killed, with accompanying ill-thought-out caption on their Facebook page.
The official response was:
“We apologise unreservedly. The post was wholly unacceptable and it will never happen again. We have social media guidelines that clearly outline what is acceptable. “However in this instance a new, over-enthusiastic member of our support team made an honest but misguided mistake and clearly stepped over the line.”
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen brands – some of them global giants – having to publicly apologise red-facedly for their latest social media screw-up. Whilst there is no categorical evidence that this faux-pas was the handiwork of a recently post-pubescent intern, it has been used as the ‘get out of jail free card’ for brands frantically retracting similarly awful mistakes. The irony is that more often than not, these youthful enthusiasts are the genuine cause of this depressing phenomenon – brands just don’t want to admit to it as a defence.
Having come from years of working in digital agencies that shaped ‘new media’ strategies, designed and built websites, and otherwise consulted for major brands venturing into the online environment, I remember the justifiably considerable monetary investment made by the clients in order to access the professional skills and expertise needed to provide genuine value for their brand.
All of sudden along comes the social web and a tsunami of interns…
Five or six years ago, would the same brands have asked someone in the office if they knew of an enthusiastic individual to quickly pop in and knock up a branded website, complete with copy and SEO optimisation? I’m thinking not. It really does beg the question why the same brands apparently feel it’s suddenly acceptable to bring in totally inexperienced and unqualified people to be the mouthpiece of their brand across major social media platforms?
Social media shouldn’t be seen as a cheap fix-all for your marketing and PR strategy. If you value your brand then you’ll pay skilled, net-savvy social copywriters, who understand the medium they’re communicating through. If you don’t, then I hope you have a long and detailed catalogue of convincing excuses to roll out when the work experience teen brings your brand crashing down around your ears.
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