Social Media Mistakes Not to Make

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This week is the one-year anniversary of Fashion Designer Kenneth Cole’s Social Media Mistake of trivializing a revolution in a tweet to 8,000 followers.

“Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online – KC”

It triggered a series of angry complaints from users who tweeted responses such as, “You should be ashamed of yourselves @KennethCole. How tasteless and insensitive. People are dying there!”

Known for writing his own Pun-tastic advertising copy after only seconds of thought, Kenneth Cole forgot that Social Media should exemplify redeeming social values. Provocative advertising gets attention but ultimately may backfire. The risk is often out of proportion to the reward.

According to The Huffington Post, the backlash prompted an almost immediate Tweeted and Facebook apology, “We weren’t trying to make light of a serious situation. We understand the sensitivity of this historical moment – KC”.