“Do you have insurance? ‘Cause if you do, you can always use a little more. Am I right or am I right or am I right?”
Don’t be this guy. The guy who treats every conversation as a chance to sell something.
Our MCOM 341 book Content Rules advises “share or solve, don’t shill.” Our MCOM 333 book, Likeable Social Media, expands on this: “Social media should not be used as a means to selling your product, brand, or company, it should just simply make it easier and more appealing for them to buy.”
Here’s a corollary: When a major, life-threatening storm is hitting the most populous area of the country, take a break from selling to express a little empathy:
What not to do
Mashable.com has is reporting on several offensive sales Tweets published during Hurricane Sandy from both American Apparel and the Gap. Here’s a sampling of the controversy:
How should an organization respond to its own offensive Tweet?
See what Kitchen Aid did.
Other Sandy links
- Whose fault is it that “Comfortably Smug” lies about Hurricane Sandy spread?
- The most innovative digital coverage of superstorm #sandy
- The Knot creates Facebook page to help Hurricane Sandy victims salvage their weddings
- Columnist’s Sand engagement shows how to use Facebook during a big story