They Tweeted WHAT?!

This post originally published on my medium profile on Thanksgiving morning. I'm still testing things out to see where it gets more eyeballs. (Poorly kept secret: I kick the tires on everything!)

This Thanksgiving morning, predictably, the Washington Redskins social media software published a Tweet wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. The internet muscles flexed and opinions flowed freely, and blog posts and other articles from everywhere started rolling in. It got me thinking… Why? Who? What exactly happens in the machine that makes this type of thing happen – again.

From my experience, a post like this happens like in this order: This was likely part of a safe, stale, schedule?—?the dreaded “content calendar” that was probably written weeks ago. Likely entered into an excel spreadsheet by a savvy, hard-working, social media slash digital marketing slash email manager slash website manager slash blogger slash multimedia content collector. Anyone else see a problem with that? (Awesome piece from Michael Stelzner on SocialMediaExaminer.com on this very topic). From there, the content calendar was likely approved by marketing-centric leadership team who also wears about 6 hats. Bummer how pro teams will easily pony up millions for a veteran, free-agent wide receiver, but it’s rare to see teams dedicate enough resources into the front office team that controls your image on your off-days.

We know that a Happy Thanksgiving post is in itself, harmless. I’d wager every pro team in every pro league will do the same thing using their scheduling software. (You’d hope they’re off work today, unless they’re one of the few NFL teams or NBA teams playing today). The context (coming from a controversial mascot) is the issue. Team ownership has dug their feet in and won’t budge on renaming the team, contrary to public opinion - on what is and isn’t considered tacky (at best) in 2015, slightly racist to focus on skin color?—?or some think our nation’s capital is celebrating the genocide of native Americans (at worst) every time they suit up.

Here’s how this type of fiasco is avoidable:

1. Skip it! Ask yourself if you MUST tweet this. That doesn’t just apply on holidays. Don’t just post for the sake of it. What happens if the ‘skins don’t tweet that? Nothing. No lost sales, anyway.
2. Don’t rely on scheduling software alone. Look, if you set it and forget it, you open up an opportunity for a whole bucket of steaming, smelly PR nightmares.
3. Throw your social media team a bone! Build a great team and don’t keep squeezing more roles into their job description. Companies that don’t invest in great social media personnel have their day coming for them. Not a threat?—?a reality.
4. Listen! Social channels are a two-way conversation. If you treat your tweets and Facebook posts like billboards, you’re in for a world of hurt. It’s not 2009 anymore. Issue an apology and move on. Delete it or ignore the replies and it will only scale.
5. Invest in professional online sentiment software and/or someone who knows how to deliver how people REALLY FEEL about your organization.Especially in something as volatile as professional sports! Okay, this is a little bit of a shameless plug, but if you know me, you know that I strongly believe in the power of trusted, hand-trained sentiment tools. I’ve measured up to 12 different types of positive / negative sentiment for pro teams?—?from the predictable stuff (team/player performance) to the oddball (moldy hot dogs/traffic).

Best of luck to the ‘skins social team. Charge those iPhones.

Nate Ludens

I own and operate Dentkicker Strategies, specializing in Social Data and Sports & Entertainment Marketing in the social age. I also love old VWs & rock n roll.