What Can We Learn From The Entenmann's Social Media Gaffe In The Wake Of The Casey Anthony Verdict?

By Author: John Zenith
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The social media space is fast paced, and just may be one of the most unforgiving mediums out there. This is something Entenmanns, everybody’s favorite commercial baking company learned the hard way. The now infamous tweet “Who’s #notguilty about eating all the tasty treats they want?!” the company sent out shortly after a jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of murdering her two year old daughter, resulted in an uproar that has led many observers to call its actions inappropriate. While that may be a bit harsh considering that it was an obvious coincidence and just bad timing if anything, the incident did teach us something about the dos and don’ts of social media marketing.

Choose Hashtags Wisely

Not sure if you noticed in the introduction, but Entenmanns used the “#notguilty” hashtag in its controversial tweet. That was its biggest mistake. The Casey Anthony trial, which is arguably the biggest of its kind since the O.J. Simpson trial, was also associated with the exact same hashtag, and a result, the bakery was accused of being insensitive among other things because of it. Hashtags can be very ...
... effective for appealing to the masses and driving traffic, but if you are not sure what they are related to, it is probably best to stay away. If not, you could be creating association with something that is not a good look for your brand.

Create Your Own Hashtags

Another lesson we can pull from the Entenmanns Twitter debacle is the importance of being unique. While the snack food maker may have thought it was being clever and original, what it did was adopt a hashtag of a trending topic, which in this case, turned out to be a mistake. Since picking a hashtag that is connected to something is apparently easy enough, it would be wise to keep your strategy closely tied with your company, brand, products or services. For example, if you have used Twitter generate buzz for a new product, the name of that product may be an ideal hashtag since it exclusive to your business.

Handle Damage Control Accordingly

Perhaps the one thing Entenmanns got right in the midst of the Casey Anthony controversy was the handling of damage control. The company swiftly sent out a sorry tweet stating that its initial post was insensitive and unintentional, followed up by another explaining that it should have checked out the hashtag first. Entenmanns admitted its mishap, and owned up to it, which is exactly what you need to do in similar situations. Keep in mind, however, that your timeliness and approach to damage control is perhaps even more important than actually taking responsibility.

In times when people seem to be more sensitive than ever, it is not surprising that people heavily criticized Entenmanns for its Twitter blunder. One website even went as far accusing the company of saying enjoying sweets is the same as murder, which is just downright outrageous period. The number one take away here is that you must be careful what you say in the social space. It is as public a platform as any, and as we have learned yet again, everyone’s watching.