In case you thought that the potential fall out from not paying close attention to your brand’s social networks was fairly minor, this blog post will hopefully convince you otherwise.

If I were to ask you to name two of the most famous soccer clubs in the world, which two would you think of? Chances are, Liverpool and Manchester United would be top of mind. These two soccer clubs are famous not just for their success in winning trophies over the decades; they are also famous for their bitter rivalry. In part, this rivalry has been stoked by inappropriate chants by “fans” that think it’s amusing to sing of the various misfortunes that have befallen their rival. One such misfortune that befell Manchester United was the Munich airplane crash of 1958 in which the lives of 23 people were tragically lost, including 8 Manchester United players. Clearly, this is a sensitive topic, and one which other clubs should not officially comment upon except to express their condolences. Indeed, with the advent of social media outlets such as Twitter, any comments that come from the club can be quickly disseminated to the entire world.

In August this year, Liverpool FC realized the potentially devastating effect one unwise comment could have had on the club’s reputation, when someone with the right to speak for the club on their official Twitter page commented on a fan’s tweet, suggesting that the club approved of the choice of songs a fan suggested should be played before the upcoming Liverpool V. Man United match (two of which related negatively to the Munich airplane crash)[1]. Within minutes of the club’s comment being tweeted, there was outrage in the soccer community. Fortunately, the club acted quickly once it saw the negative reaction, by deleting the tweet and issuing an unreserved apology. As naïve as it was to have made the comment in the first place, at least the club responded quickly and decisively to prevent the situation from escalating.

In this instance, one brand managed to reduce the fall out from an inappropriate comment by closely monitoring their social networks.

Not all brands have reacted so decisively though[2].

In order to ensure that your brand does not fall into the same traps as some unfortunate brands, check out the advice in this Vocas Whitepaper about monitoring the social media conversation:

http://www.prnewsonline.com/Assets/Monitorsocialmediaconversationfromtwittertofacebook.pdf

In a nutshell, you should:

1)   Establish guidelines

2)   Identify what to monitor

3)   Gauge Impact

4)   Set up Integrated Media Monitoring

Good luck!