Brands, please know your place on Twitter

Photo Credits for Twitter Photo: 2 NIX / Shutterstock.com 

Since Oreo won the Internet during the 2013 Super Bowl blackout with their “You can dunk in the dark” tweet, brands have been on hand to add their two cents during a timely event. Whether it is the Oscars, the Super Bowl, the World Cup or more sensitive issues, brands are constantly searching for a way to capitalize on the conversation for self-promotion. The Good. Brands have the opportunity to make people rejoice. They can show their lighter side and their exceptionally creative side highlighting why they are on Twitter in the first place. Take #BendGate for example –the hashtag that started recently after the announcement that Apple’s new iPhone has encountered some bodywork issues  -- has seen brands come out in full force but in a witty and positive way (for the most part). Take Heineken’s tweet below for example, it shows brand solidarity and the lighter side of the beer company.

Dear Apple… #BendGate pic.twitter.com/XJ8zVEUog9 — Heineken NL (@Heineken_NL) September 25, 2014

The Bad. We are all aware of the negative side that this can have. Take Digiorno’s accidental tweet using the hashtag #WhyIStayed during the Ray Rice troubles. #WhyIStayed was trending to help victims of domestic violence have a voice on the social platform. A frozen pizza brand has no place here.

  There are a plethora of brand mistakes on Twitter (check out Business Insiders list for a taste), and as apologetic as brands may be for their behavior, it still doesn’t excuse the fact that they should never have been participating in the first place. While being a part of trending conversations and current events can be an effective marketing strategy, I urge brands to remember one thing: there’s a time and a place. John Oliver from Last Week Tonight said it best in a powerful clip from a recent episode when he exclaimed, “Look companies, your silence is never going to be controversial.” The video is NSFW and cannot be embedded yet, but you can view it on Youtube here.