It is always entertaining to see social media fails – especially from large corporate brands. Seeing someone else misuse the internet is funny – but also a little tragic when you look at it from a marketing perspective.
As marketers, we take digital marketing and online presence very seriously. Everything that we post for our brands is perfectly crafted and thought out in advance, with the occasional timely post if something significant occurs.
On the morning of November 24th, McDonald’s Social Media Manager *supposedly* made a hilarious mistake in their Black Friday tweet.
Black Friday **** Need copy and link****
— McDonald’s (@McDonaldsCorp) November 24, 2017
Our team cringed when we saw the tweet because we know how big of a blunder something like that can be – for a brand of any size. While mistakes do happen, our team is fairly unconvinced that it was a McAccident. Here is why:
McDonald’s Is A Huge Brand
McDonald’s is one of the biggest brands in the world. We find it incredibly hard to believe that a mistake like that would have been made.
McDonald’s is typically on top of their marketing game. Did they give everyone the day off apart from an intern because it was the day after a holiday? Doubtful.
It just doesn’t make any sense.
Content Calendars Give Marketers Life
For marketing professionals, content calendars rule our lives. Content calendars are the most efficient way to plan out social media posts, in advance, and they help make everything run as smoothly as possible.
For marketers that utilize content calendars – they are VERY aware of what content is coming up and needs to be scheduled. We are finding it hard to believe that someone actually copied and pasted “Black Friday **** Need copy and link****” without realizing it before posting it. Not only that, but they had a quick and witty response to their own tweet posted immediately after the original tweet went live.
When you tweet before your first cup of McCafé… Nothing comes before coffee. pic.twitter.com/aPJ2ZupS9b
— McDonald’s (@McDonaldsCorp) November 24, 2017
Hmm. We think that is as fishy as the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish.
McDonald’s is No Stranger to Clever Internet Ploys
McDonald’s is known for being savvy with the Internet. This wouldn’t be the first time that McDonald’s did something clever online.
Earlier this year, McDonald’s partnered with Mindy Kaling to promote the fact that they were selling any size soft drink for $1. In the crafty advertisement, Kaling wasn’t allowed to mention McDonald’s. Instead she called it “that place where Coke tastes so good.” Very cute, McDonald’s.
I partnered with a brand w/o being able to say the name of the brand. Is that normal? If so, can I be paid in fries? https://t.co/MNgGp23nP6
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) April 14, 2017
That Buzz Was McREAL
The buzz surrounding the supposed mistake was REAL y’all. Everyone was talking about the tweet, and it received 23k retweets and 72k favorites over the course of a few days. There was so much buzz surrounding the blunder, it has us wondering if the mistake was completely intentional.
If it was, kudos to McDonald’s because that tweet had everyone talking about the incident. Especially marketers! Our entire team was chatting about it and making jokes.
Even more kudos to Wendy’s who clapped back at McDonald’s in a hilarious way. Fast-food drama on social media gives us life. Keep it up Wendy’s, you savage.
When the tweets are as broken as the ice cream machine. https://t.co/esdndK1iFm
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) November 24, 2017
Avoiding Social Media Blunders
Social media managers are human, so mistakes occasionally happen. We just don’t think McDonald’s allowed this tweet to go out unintentionally. You know what they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Despite this fact, as a marketing agency, we work incredibly hard to ensure that our clients do not experience any social media blunders. We live by our content calendars and social scheduling tools to minimize any potential mistakes. If you would like to discuss how our team can help you with your social media content, contact us today.
We are also curious to see what you think about the McDonald’s Black Friday tweet. Click here to let us know what you think!
