Donald Trump could write his own biography on #socialmediafails. It amazes me that a man with so many resources at his disposal, could constantly get it wrong on social media. His epic #socialmediafail last week may just be the one to trump them all.
Last Friday, the presumptive Republican nominee attempted to use the highly controversial United Kingdom EU referendum as a means to connect with his online following. What started off as a good idea soon became an epic #socialmediafail when Trump incorrectly tweeted that Scotland had "[taken] their country back" (see below). To Trump's embarrassment, Scotland almost unanimously voted to remain within the EU.
As you could imagine, the twittersphere immediately notified
Trump of his error; burying him in thousands of tweets (and
insults) carefully explaining the outcome of the referendum.
Some attached helpful graphs to help convey the point to
Trump...
Whilst others took the opportunity to get creative with their insults...
To some, multiple posts were necessary...
Celebrities even got in on the action!
So what can be learnt from Trump's latest edition of "What not to do on social media"?
Research! Trump certainly deserves praise for taking a topical subject and making a personal connection to it. That being said however, his efforts have been overshadowed by his embarrassing mistake. What made matters worse is that almost all forms of media had concocted some form of discussion around #Brexit, making it relatively hard for him (or his social media team) to get it wrong! We suggest researching the topic before posting to avoid this very public (and humiliating) #socialmediafail
Measure twice – cut once! Given how quickly a post or tweet could be shared, reposted or re-tweeted, we strongly recommend that you re-read your posts/tweets before making them public. By re-reading your message, you may be able to correct any potentially embarrassing typos or errors.
Learn from your mistakes – It's inevitable that each of us, at one time or another in either our professional or personal life, will make a mistake on social media. For most of us the mistakes we make will be easily forgiven and forgotten. However, if you or your business constantly get it wrong on social media, you may be doing more harm to your brand than good. In those circumstances, you may need to reassess whether social media is the right platform for you.
Unfortunately for him, Trump seems doomed to repeat history – see our previous blog, Trump's image retweeting fails: Lessons to learn. Luckily, for the rest of us, his #socialmediafails provide opportunities for all of us to learn the importance of erring on the side of caution.
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