Twitter can be a great tool to help businesses connect with their audience, especially when they’re looking to reach out in a relaxed and engaging fashion. However, it’s a platform that can also stir up issues if not carefully approached; what seems to one person like lighthearted fun can inadvertently offend someone else. Take The UPS Store, for instance: This past holiday season, the company tweeted an offer to parents to shred their children’s letters to Santa, which prompted a not-so-cheery viral reaction from the internet.
If you want to ensure an attention-getting tweet that gains positive attention, you’ll have to tread lightly and consider how your audience might react. Forbes Communications Council members shared tips for reducing the risk of misinterpretation on Twitter.
1. Get Cross-Team Feedback
Run your ideas by multiple team members of varying ages in different departments. It can be easy for marketing teams to be too close to a campaign and miss out on valuable perspectives in the company. Avoid social media mistakes by getting feedback from employees in other departments who can help provide an objective eye. - Holly Tate, Vanderbloemen Search Group
2. Establish Clear Social Media Policies
Social media policies are important for this very reason. Having and following a solid social media policy can help prevent unintentional tweetstorms from occurring. Stick to official company news on Twitter. If you feel compelled to release something funny, offbeat or humorous, check with some top customers, managers and employees for feedback before sending. If there’s any doubt, leave it out. - Lisa Wolfington, Benchworks
3. Hire Great Editors
Misinterpreted social media posts are bound to happen, especially because so few companies using social media run drafts of posts through an editor. Many business leaders still believe, unfortunately, that editors simply check the copy for spelling errors. Great editors understand the field, see writing from multiple angles and perspectives and can help prevent social posts that backfire. - Cameron Conaway, Solace
4. Train Junior Staff To Recognize Potential Controversies
Because junior team members are often in charge of tweeting, it’s important to have their tweets reviewed at first before rules are established. While this might seem daunting for tweets, a practical approach is to train your junior team members to recognize when a tweet might be controversial. Train them with systematic daily reviews for two weeks and they’ll know when to ask for help. - Isabelle Dumont, Arceo.ai
5. Test It With The Target Market
When trying a new content strategy, ask for quick feedback from those who understand your target market but were not involved in the brainstorming. Actual clients, colleagues who could be clients or sales leaders can quickly respond with “I don’t get it” or give context to current pop culture trends. - Heidi Baumgart, Event Source
6. Look At Things From Your Audience’s Point Of View
A company’s worst nightmare can be going viral for the wrong reason. One lesson here is to be careful about how you news-jack events. What may seem like a playful topic can be misinterpreted. A good practice is to look through the lens as your audience, both intended and not. Also, consult subject matter experts within your workplace. They’ll be able to better identify potential sensitivities. - G’Nai Blakemore, Mattress Firm
7. Speak Your Message Out Loud
Surprise and safety are always at odds when it comes to marketing—either you’re too boring or too bold. Every once in a while, as was the case with UPS, a company will miss the branding bullseye. A simple yet effective way to avoid marketing mistakes is to speak your message aloud to multiple people and take note of reactions. If any reaction approaches discomfort, then change your approach. - Jeff Grover, Best Company
8. Have A Quality Control Proofreader
It’s easy to mess up content if you are a writer. We all know how easy it is to overlook a word or to be blind to an unintended double meaning when writing. That’s why every writer needs to have someone who can proofread and edit their content before it is published. It doesn’t need to go to a committee, but have someone available to review and edit to catch any mistakes or misinterpretations. - Alexi Lambert Leimbach, Xcellimark
9. Identify What Feelings You Do And Don’t Want To Evoke
It’s a question of perception. Knowing your voice and staying true to it is key. Understanding your target audience and stepping into their shoes is equally important. To avoid having to go on damage control, I’d suggest developing a list of feelings that you do and don’t want to evoke in consumers. If you’re unsure about a tweet, see which boxes you check. - Caitlyn Brogan, Buchbinder Tunick & Company LLP
10. Ask Insightful Questions
In the little real estate you have with Twitter, one of the best ways to get engagement is to make a statement and ask an insightful question to solicit public opinion and make the public feel like they are part of the discussion. This serves two purposes: You get a viewpoint out there, and you can get engagement and feedback that you may use! - Rena Fallstrom, Pure Storage
11. Stay True To Your Brand Identity
Wendy’s has perfected timeliness and is the reigning queen of buzzy social posts with a side of shade. But they cultivated this identity. Your post shouldn’t try to be something your brand is not. And, if yours is a safe brand, maybe the drop-in won’t be trending, but it also won’t be misinterpreted. UPS could have stuck to their friendly, helpful persona. - Adam Giffi, Alexander Mann Solutions
12. Just Be Authentic
The biggest problem with the UPS tweet is that the delivery company was trying to promote their lesser-known services instead of posting something that was authentic. A public relations expert told me that instead of promoting their shredding services, the brand could easily have shared the story of how they helped makes kids’ dreams come true, or how you can shred your holiday bills with UPS. - Antoine Bonicalzi, Cyberimpact
