There probably isn’t anyone alive who hasn’t heard about Anthony Weiner’s stupid Twitter move. I won’t rehash that here, but I will tell you that this isn’t, by any stretch, the last time someone is going to do something dumb using a social platform.
This week, bakery giant Entenmann’s f’ed up on Twitter by tweeting a hashtag they didn’t thoroughly research.
The hashtag, #notguilty was trending because of the Casey Anthony verdict.
Not-so-savvy Entenmann’s thought they’d take advantage of the trend, jump on the bandwagon and add #notguilty to a tweet about tasty treats.
Uh, no.
TechCrunch said this:
Depending on what you believe, the voice of @Entenmann’s either decided it would be funny to hashtag surf on the trending #notguilty hashtag or sincerely didn’t look and just stuck a random #notguilty in a tweet about eating tasty tweets, presumably to get pickup.
In any case, misuse of a hashtag by a business or a brand is a serious mistake, whether intentional or merely misguided. Understanding hashtags, what they mean, why the trend, when to use them, is imp0rtant if you’re using Twitter for business.
Don’t be a Weiner or an Entenmann’s, in this case.
I don’t know why this stuff always surprises me, but it just shows that big names and big brands are just as prone to mistakes as little guys like us. Lessons to be learned all around.