In the Paul Newman classic, Cool Hand Luke, the Boss man explains “what we got here is failure … to communicate.” Success does not only depend on having the right intentions, but getting the message across to the audience.
Recently Miele, an appliance company founded in 1899, not only failed to reach its audiences on Instagram, it actually insulted them. In a carpe diem attempt to seize International Women’s Day, Miele pictured contemporary women celebrating a washer and dryer with cake and confetti.
Instead of honoring women, Miele once again presented the 50’s housewife stereotype of “women’s work.” The post only lasted a few hours on social media before Miele realized that they had made a media mistake and the post came down.
Avoiding social media mistakes
Media mistakes like Miele’s can be avoided. As Raelene Morey, an editor for Revive Social expressed, “Don’t rely on old-fashioned stereotypes for your marketing. Know your target audience. Understand what drives them and use this information to inform your social media for business campaigns.” It will help to ensure that your brand’s communications are always on message.
Effective media coaching can help in being proactive rather than reactive. Why work to fix the media mistake when you can avoid the failure in the first place?