Be sure to proofread your twitter messages!

Published January 13, 2015 at 7:40 am

Looking over a message before you click “send” can save you and your company a lot of strife. This is equally true for an email to an important person and a marketing message sent out to everyone on Twitter. The social platform has evolved into an extremely sensitive environment where every second counts and even a small mistake can drive customers away.

Last year saw multiple examples of major brands and figures making some judgment errors on Twitter, as cataloged by Entrepreneur. Sometimes, it was a lack of understanding of a trending hashtag that did the business in: One incident listed in the source involved Papa John using a hashtag associated with domestic violence to promote its brand, something it later apologized for.

Similarly, Best Buy found itself in the news for a tweet deemed to be in bad taste, in which it tried to referenced the popular true crime podcast Serial in a joking manner, as Social News Daily reports. Because the podcast centers around a reporter’s investigation into a murder case, the chain eventually retracted the tweet and issued an apology.

Though these are certainly eyebrow-raising examples, something as little as a typo can be just as damaging. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently tweeted about the passing of a former New York Governor, but his message was roundly criticized on the social network for using the wrong version of “its.” Despite the somber subject matter, some took this to be an insult and several tweeted corrections.

By putting thought into your company’s coordinated marketing campaign execution, you can avoid problems like this and still appeal to a large audience. Online marketing campaigns need to be correct in all ways, recognizing tone as much as content and maintaining the fan’s trust.