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Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success

Danielle D Ali, Social Media Coordinator
Posted in online public relations. on Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 by Danielle D Ali, Social Media Coordinator Tags: social media
Feb 22

My name is Danielle, and I have tweeted from the wrong account before.

When The American Red Cross sent out an errant status on Twitter last week, all of us social media folks could relate to that cringe-worthy moment. When you’re multitasking with a third-party client like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, it’s easy to get your wires crossed. Can any of us say we’ve tweeted something as hilariously inappropriate and screen-grab worthy as the Red Cross, though?

Red Cross Twitter Mistake

Here’s where the Red Cross proved themselves not only smart about social media but brilliant when it comes to PR. Right away, they addressed the “oops” honestly and with a sense of humor:

Red Cross Twitter Response

Then, as soon as things were gaining momentum and Dogfish Head Brewery joined in on the fun, they wrote a blog post that was once again down-to-earth and funny while staying on The Red Cross message of being sympathetic to others and doing good.

The truth is, a well-respected, long-standing organization like the Red Cross honestly doesn’t need to spin into crisis mode over something like this. They could have deleted it, ignored it and it probably would have gone away after getting passed around online for a little while. And that’s what most would do. Instead, they took the opportunity to level with their audience, show that they can have a sense of humor and basically school us all on online PR. And now instead of laughing at their expense, we’re praising them for their savvy and using them as an example.

The lesson I learned here? Any brand can (and should) be down-to-earth. People have a much lower tolerance for insincerity online than in other media, and will tune out if you aren’t authentic. That can be hard to grasp for organizations who are used to a more corporate approach to PR, but the Red Cross has clearly mastered it. Even if you value maintaining a corporate tone, you should never be too buttoned up to admit your mistakes and laugh at yourself. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of “going social” in the first place. 

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  1. AAF - Baltimore says:
    February 22, 2011 at 10:12 am

    RT @adsatTCA: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success: My name is Danielle, and I have tweeted… http://bit.ly/gGTQEy

  2. The Cyphers Agency says:
    February 22, 2011 at 10:19 am

    How the @RedCross spun their Twitter fail into a social media win & what we can learn from it: http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  3. Christina Drews says:
    February 22, 2011 at 11:03 am

    RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  4. Tessa Carroll says:
    February 22, 2011 at 11:16 am

    A lesson in online PR from the Red Cross. RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  5. Alltop Social Media says:
    February 22, 2011 at 12:13 pm

    Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/hU3HNX Social-Media.alltop

  6. The Cyphers Agency says:
    February 22, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    No. 1 lesson of #socialmedia: Don't drink & Hootsuite. #gettingslizzered http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  7. Danielle D. Ali says:
    February 22, 2011 at 12:43 pm

    RT @adsatTCA: No. 1 lesson of #socialmedia: Don't drink & Hootsuite. #gettingslizzered http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  8. Sarah Barnes says:
    February 22, 2011 at 12:46 pm

    RT @Alltop_Social: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/hU3HNX Social-Media.alltop

  9. Jocelyn Rimbey says:
    February 22, 2011 at 12:48 pm

    RT @adsatTCA: No. 1 lesson of #socialmedia: Don't drink & Hootsuite. #gettingslizzered http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  10. Austen M. says:
    February 22, 2011 at 1:07 pm

    #RedCross Turns Twitter Mistake Into #SocialMedia Success: http://bit.ly/hWyjdu #PR #publicrelations #brand

  11. rosannarago says:
    February 22, 2011 at 1:50 pm

    Go Red Cross PR! RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  12. Anna Forbes says:
    February 23, 2011 at 11:27 am

    RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  13. socialcme says:
    February 23, 2011 at 3:05 pm

    Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://ow.ly/41Gvt

  14. Medikly says:
    February 23, 2011 at 3:05 pm

    Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://ow.ly/41GuP

  15. Strongman's Best says:
    February 24, 2011 at 6:38 pm

    RT @adsatTCA How the @RedCross spun their Twitter fail into a social media win & what we can learn from it: http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ

  16. Alex Hall says:
    March 11, 2011 at 1:57 am

    http://su.pr/15zzNr – Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success

  17. NP Social Media Jumpstart :: Giv.to Blog says:
    April 6, 2011 at 9:44 am

    [...] Two, Three, Four, Five.  [...]

  18. Jeremy Wright says:
    April 21, 2011 at 8:26 pm

    check it out http://bit.ly/gQyyiU #utalk

  19. Roberta Chopp says:
    May 2, 2011 at 1:32 pm

    Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://t.co/HiUjlb1 via @adsattca

  20. Jonathan Tsang says:
    August 10, 2011 at 2:47 pm

    hey @JD_Duran i thought this link might be helpful in your time of crisis :) http://t.co/LGcfX8c

  21. The Rules of Engagement — GetSocialBrevard says:
    August 31, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    [...] individuals for this honest mistake.  But others, like the Red Cross have been able to flip this social media gaffe into a display of authenticity. However, not all companies share the same sense of [...]

  22. Andrew VanderPloeg says:
    September 13, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    @CharityVillage If the friendly route fails, also consider the American Red Cross' strategy (saves the legal fees) – http://t.co/H4PrBB1

  23. Geoffrey Blosat says:
    January 26, 2012 at 12:33 am

    @eModAshley Or the American Red Cross! http://t.co/n2LxpOfI #ritpr

  24. Kendra Bissonnette says:
    February 29, 2012 at 6:47 pm

    A4: I've seen things tweeted on brand accounts that were meant for personal Twitter accounts http://t.co/SwDEkQly #digitaldinnertable

  25. Social Media Blog post #3 « sally king says:
    April 16, 2012 at 1:46 am

    [...] A similar incident happened with the American Red Cross: http://www.tcapushnpull.com/online-public-relations/red-cross-turns-twitter-mistake-into-social-medi... [...]

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