KitchenAid’s Social Media Mix-Up

Once something’s on the internet, rest assured that it’s going to be there for keeps. During late night’s presidential debate, one of KitchenAid’s social media managers mistakenly tweeted a distasteful joke about President Obama’s late grandmother. Although the offending tweet was deleted as quickly as it was posted, KitchenAid’s gaffe failed to slip under the radar. Considering that last night’s debate was “the most tweeted-about event in U.S. politics” (with over 10 million tweets dispatched for the 90-minute debate), numerous users had already read it – and shared it.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this type of incident has occurred. Social media damage control has plagued the likes of StubHub, Chrysler, and even the American Red Cross.

The lesson here is a simple one. No matter how social media-savvy your employees are, it’s best to stride on the safe side. Always log out of your personal account. Better yet – don’t mix work with play, especially with social media managers such as HootSuite. These easily avoidable examples of brand-damaging blunders speak for themselves.