Social media looks like a free and easy way to jump start sluggish sales or generate qualified new leads. That's probably why so many companies adopt the Nike slogan and “Just Do It.”
But random acts of social media can be expensive, wasteful and are usually ineffective. The typical impact of a weekly tweet or Facebook post, no matter how well-phrased, will be zero. In fact, poorly planned efforts can be counterproductive and, in extreme cases, even dangerous.
Perhaps you saw these stories in the news:
Fashion designer Kenneth Cole used Twitter to make light of demonstrations and social unrest in Egypt by linking it to his spring line. He later apologized on his Facebook page.
McDonald's asked Twitter users to share their favorite memories of the burger chain. Instead it got horror stories of bad food and shoddy service.
After a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces posted a YouTube video of the attack that killed a Hamas leader, the Hamas military wing vowed to take vengeance on “leaders and soldiers wherever they are.”
