Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success
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?
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:
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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48 Responses to “Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success”
on February 22nd, 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
on February 22nd, 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
on February 22nd, 2011 at 11:03 am #
RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ
on February 22nd, 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
on February 22nd, 2011 at 12:13 pm #
Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/hU3HNX Social-Media.alltop
on February 22nd, 2011 at 12:30 pm #
No. 1 lesson of #socialmedia: Don't drink & Hootsuite. #gettingslizzered http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ
on February 22nd, 2011 at 12:43 pm #
RT @adsatTCA: No. 1 lesson of #socialmedia: Don't drink & Hootsuite. #gettingslizzered http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ
on February 22nd, 2011 at 12:46 pm #
RT @Alltop_Social: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/hU3HNX Social-Media.alltop
on February 22nd, 2011 at 12:48 pm #
RT @adsatTCA: No. 1 lesson of #socialmedia: Don't drink & Hootsuite. #gettingslizzered http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ
on February 22nd, 2011 at 1:07 pm #
#RedCross Turns Twitter Mistake Into #SocialMedia Success: http://bit.ly/hWyjdu #PR #publicrelations #brand
on February 22nd, 2011 at 1:50 pm #
Go Red Cross PR! RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ
on February 23rd, 2011 at 11:27 am #
RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://bit.ly/gYIvIJ
on February 23rd, 2011 at 3:05 pm #
Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://ow.ly/41Gvt
on February 23rd, 2011 at 3:05 pm #
Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://ow.ly/41GuP
on February 24th, 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
on March 11th, 2011 at 1:57 am #
http://su.pr/15zzNr – Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success
on April 6th, 2011 at 9:44 am #
[...] Two, Three, Four, Five. [...]
on April 21st, 2011 at 8:26 pm #
check it out http://bit.ly/gQyyiU #utalk
on May 2nd, 2011 at 1:32 pm #
Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://t.co/HiUjlb1 via @adsattca
on August 10th, 2011 at 2:47 pm #
hey @JD_Duran i thought this link might be helpful in your time of crisis
http://t.co/LGcfX8c
on August 31st, 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 [...]
on September 13th, 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
on January 26th, 2012 at 12:33 am #
@eModAshley Or the American Red Cross! http://t.co/n2LxpOfI #ritpr
on February 29th, 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
on April 16th, 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… [...]
on May 24th, 2012 at 3:53 am #
[...] I mentioned the mistake thing above. If you have a typo or pull a major social blunder (remember the girl from the Red Cross?) own up to it. Your audience will respect you for [...]
on May 31st, 2012 at 1:54 am #
RT @adsattca: Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into Social Media Success http://t.co/XMr9lq8V
on June 15th, 2012 at 7:26 pm #
Jajajajaja el caso de Red Cross en Twitter, supieron resolver el Twitter Fail. Gracias a @gawed por el tip http://t.co/KdY52Qyr
on June 19th, 2012 at 5:23 pm #
how did i miss this red cross drunken tweet turned fundraise? http://t.co/CEhf4EZC via @legalnomads
on June 19th, 2012 at 5:36 pm #
Some companies get it, others don't. I love how Red Cross and Dog Fish handled this slip-up. http://t.co/fWnrP9MI
on June 19th, 2012 at 11:25 pm #
how did i miss this red cross drunken tweet turned fundraise? http://t.co/CEhf4EZC via @legalnomads
on July 30th, 2012 at 8:59 pm #
A8: http://t.co/odJAjknC Red Cross was my favorite #fail
on July 30th, 2012 at 9:00 pm #
A8: http://t.co/odJAjknC Red Cross was my favorite #fail #smdandc
on July 30th, 2012 at 9:06 pm #
A8: http://t.co/odJAjknC Red Cross was my favorite #fail #smdandc
on July 30th, 2012 at 11:30 pm #
Mistakes Happen: How the Red Cross Responded To Their Social Media Oops! http://t.co/0fwKhHXq #businessfail #twitter
on July 30th, 2012 at 11:34 pm #
RT @Lendio: Mistakes Happen: How the Red Cross Responded To Their Social Media Oops! http://t.co/FGGFH7GC #businessfail #twitter #UTstartup
on August 24th, 2012 at 7:30 am #
Smart SocialMedia: How #RedCross turned a #Twitter blooper to its advantage http://t.co/DpKxeIdY @dogfishbeer
on October 3rd, 2012 at 3:12 am #
★ La Cruz Roja convirtió error en Twitter en un éxito en #redessociales online http://t.co/gKRKXFOJ La clave: sinceridad.
on October 3rd, 2012 at 3:13 am #
★ La Cruz Roja convirtió error en Twitter en un éxito en #redessociales online http://t.co/gKRKXFOJ La clave: sinceridad.
on October 3rd, 2012 at 3:14 am #
★ La Cruz Roja convirtió error en Twitter en un éxito en #redessociales online http://t.co/gKRKXFOJ La clave: sinceridad.
on October 3rd, 2012 at 3:16 am #
RT @Ignace: ★ La Cruz Roja convirtió error en Twitter en un éxito en #redessociales online http://t.co/hwYJTBGB La clave: sinceridad.
on October 3rd, 2012 at 3:16 am #
★ La Cruz Roja convirtió error en Twitter en un éxito en #redessociales online http://t.co/gKRKXFOJ La clave: sinceridad.
on October 3rd, 2012 at 3:18 am #
RT @Ignace: ★ La Cruz Roja convirtió error en Twitter en un éxito en #redessociales online http://t.co/hwYJTBGB La clave: sinceridad.
on October 3rd, 2012 at 4:09 am #
Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into #SocialMedia #Success http://t.co/SYYLGZhv
on October 3rd, 2012 at 4:16 am #
Red Cross Turns Twitter Mistake Into #SocialMedia #Success http://t.co/SYYLGZhv
on October 3rd, 2012 at 4:57 am #
@Francotirador Tienes razón, lo borraron, mismo caso, pero lo usaron muy más a su favor que @CNNChile http://t.co/gKRKXFOJ y…
on October 6th, 2012 at 6:52 am #
La Cruz Roja convirtió error en #Twitter en un éxito en #RedesSociales online http://t.co/mkmOk8Xy La clave: sinceridad #SocialMedia #TIC
on October 6th, 2012 at 6:52 am #
La Cruz Roja convirtió error en #Twitter en un éxito en #RedesSociales online http://t.co/saJbIYzS La clave:… http://t.co/W7sCPzsD