How to avoid Social Media mistakes

To admit that you’ve made a mistake is never easy. Neither telling somebody in personal nor online. Once you wrote something wrong on the internet it’s almost impossible to delete it without somebody having read it. Now it’s your turn to take action and atone for your mistake.

Don’t worry, people excuse spelling mistakes. Behind every Social Media account is a human being and most people recognize and don’t judge that. What I’m talking about are misconducts which are not easy to handle and can also cost you your job.

Mashable assorted a collection which shows some cases with the consequence of losing their jobs like teacher Ashley Payne who posted pictures showing her drinking alkohol. That didn’t really fit her function as a role model. Read the article about Social Media job loss.

The case of NationalTheatre shows that Follower are not always upset about some obviously misplaced Tweets on official Twitter accounts. You can read the whole story and enthusiastic reactions at wearethenest.com.

Earlier this year the American Red Cross experienced a faux pas when an employee accidently send a Tweet via business account about drinking alcohol. Like in case of National Theatre most reactions were positive and the Red Cross apologized by using humor and won hearts.Beth Kanter wrote an informative post at her blog about the mistake and explained briefly what to learn from it.

To sum up it can be said that lots of mistakes are made at Twitter since it’s a daily used platform and 140 signs tempt people to be incautious. However, Social Media involves much more than Twitter. I found an useful article of chewmeiling who exactly pointed out common mistakes and also Fay Strang provides some helpful information.

Like we all know Social Media is a great way to communicate with customers and business associates but it hides some traps to overcome. Always remember: A good crisis management is important.

Have you ever made an awkward mistake via Twitter, Facebook or other platforms? We’d like to know how you handle it :)

LS

2nd picture from wordpress