It can be tempting to throw in a #hashtag here, one #there, and eh, maybe one #here just for kicks. However, before you use a hashtag, make sure you know exactly what that #hashtag represents, especially if it is a popular trending one. DiGiorno Pizza learned this particular lesson in perhaps the most awkward way possible the other day. DiGiorno has had success with its tweets in the past, especially with its live-tweeting of the Sound of Music last year. Its tweets garnered a bit of attention for its punchy messages, and a tone that the LA Times likened to a “smack talking, possibly drunk wise guy.”
But that was not the magic formula for DiGiorno’s this time around. On Monday night, DiGiorno posted the following tweet:
Doesn’t seem too controversial? Well, it would have been fine, if #WhyIStayed wasn’t about domestic violence. That particular hashtag became an online forum for women who have been in abusive relationships to discuss and share the experiences. As the title implies, #WhyIStayed signifies that even though these women were abused, they stayed with their partners. Not a subject that you want to take lightly.
Minutes after the harsh backlash started, DiGiorno realized its faux pas and pulled the tweet. However, some twitter users had by that time grabbed screenshots of the tweet for posterity. DiGiorno sent an apologetic tweet immediately afterwards, as well as the following statement:
This tweet was a mistake, quickly realized as such and deleted seconds later.
Our community manager — and the entire DiGiorno team — is truly sorry.
The tweet does not reflect our values and we’ve been personally responding to everyone who has engaged with us on social media.
We apologize.
The #WhyIStayed hashtag became a trending topic after TMZ released a video on Monday which showed the former Baltimore Ravens running back punching his then-fiancée, and then later dragged her out of a hotel elevator while she appeared be unconscious. (After the video was released, Rice was consequently cut from the Ravens roster and is now indefinitely suspended from the NFL).
DiGiorno’s mistake may have been a bad judgement call (fraught with some straight up bad luck) but what happened to them could very well happen anyone else nonchalantly tweeting. While you want to put hashtags in your messages to generate more engagement, make sure that when using a hashtag, you know what it represents. Social media is used for both light hearted and serious discussion, so you don’t want to mistakenly post a message that is going to be taken the wrong way, like DiGiorno did. That being said, I think DiGiorno’s has learned its lesson, and we can expect their tweets to be hashtagged a little more cautiously now. Although, I don’t think they will ever get ride of their smack-talking, wise-guy attitude.
Source: Mashable