5 online reputation fails that should be avoided at all costs.

1. Online Reputation Fails
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2. Using automated tweets is not a good idea. That’s what American Airlines found out after someone
bashed the airline on its merger with US Airways. Instead of offering an apology, American Airlines
responded with a “thanks for your for support!” making it very obvious that the
company uses automated tweets.

3. What can we learn from this? Automated replies are not how you
create a sense of community and a personalized experience;
things that social media can offer. In this case, it makes American
Airlines looks foolish and they probably made the customer
angrier than he already was. The bottom line is don’t use
automated tweets if you are committed to delivering excellent
customer service.

4. In 2010, Greenpeace launched a video campaign aimed at Nestlé. Greenpeace encouraged their supporters to
change their profile pictures to anti-Nestlé slogans. Nestlé then announced that they would delete comments
from Greenpeace supporters if they wouldn’t alter their profile pics. On top of that, comments were made by
the social media page administrator that only worsened the situation and created an angry mob effect. Finally,
a Nestlé representative apologized, but the damage was already done.

5. What can we learn from Nestlé? Never argue with customers!
Arguing with angry customers will only make things worse, and is
never a good idea. Nestlé should have been on top of social media
posts when this protest was enrolled, and should have had a clear
plan of action. The best thing Nestlé could have done was to
proactively apologize before the mob got upset . When
apologizing, always be authentic and make sure customers know
that their complaints are being listened to and a solution
is being worked on.

6. Always check what your hashtags mean. DiGiorno Pizza learned their lesson the hard way. The
#WhyIStayed hashtag was created in response to domestic abuse victim Janay Palmer, after her fiancé
Ray Rice knocked her unconscious in an elevator. Even though the Tweet was deleted within minutes,
people couldn’t appreciate the post. DiGiorino’s apology went so far as writing an apology to each Twitter
user who commented on the Tweet.

7. Always do your research. It is clear that one should always check
a hashtag before Tweeting. Using an inappropriate hashtag can
be very damaging to a brand. They managed to limit the damage
due to their prompt action and well-meant
personalized apologies.

8. Another example of bad customer service on social media involves a small exchange of thoughts that led to
years of reputational damage for the Dark Horse Café. A customer complained about the lack of electrical
outlets in their café, which was not received well by the company. Their tweet strongly gave the impression
that they don’t care about their customer’s opinion, and probably made the customer even more upset.

9. Food for thought: Every interaction matters. Thank your
customers if they give any compliments and take your
customer’s feedback serious by letting them know that you have
read their comment and that you’ll come up with an appropriate
solution. Disregarding a comment, or in this case being
demeaning about the opinion of a customer can
influence millions of others.

10. Humor can be a good way to interact with your audience. However, never ever try to be funny over a
political issue in a country. During the 2011 protests that were held in Cairo, Egypt, Kenneth Cole himself
misused the #Cairo hashtag to promote his new collection. Not unexpectedly, his Tweet was not well
received and caused a lot of reputation damage.

11. Check your hashtags The worst part of this example is that
Kenneth Cole was aware of the context. So what should they
have done besides not using it? Whenever you want to use a
hashtag consider the effects on your brand. Do you feel it aligns
with your brand values? Is it contributing to your brand
conversation? When it isn’t, then simply don’t use it.