Virgins wanted. Who's next at social media's sacrificial altar?

The wonderful thing about communication is that there's always fresh content to discuss. Take for example two cases where companies found themselves at social media's sacrificial altar this past week: Celeb Boutique and Chick-fil-A. Social media is a game changer for companies. Never before have companies been able to have such a direct and immediate dialog with their customers. Never before have companies been able to communicate in this "in the moment" kind of way.

This is both good and bad. While companies can reach audiences in the fifteen seconds it takes to compose a status update or tweet, consumers also have this same power. In the social media arena, this often gives consumers the upper hand. In this new world, consumers can love you one day and crucify you the next. Corporate executives beware.

The first example comes from Celeb Boutique and their ridiculously poorly timed tweet promoting their Aurora dress. Until a week ago, most people didn't have the Colorado town or the trendy dress on their radar. What transpired across social media is a lesson about how not to make your grand entrance.

  

The morning following last week's horrific shooting in Aurora, "clearly" Aurora was trending on Twitter (among the grown-ups). An employee at Celeb Boutique saw the Twitter trend and couldn't contain her excitement as she fired off her less than 140-character tweet. Celeb Boutique featured a Kim-K inspired dress called the Aurora, so the social media employee mistakenly assumed all the buzz around the world was about their $157 white Aurora dress (that's like totally newsworthy, right?). This, folks, is all it takes to make you the laughing stock of Twitter, Facebook and every other social media outlet. Celeb Boutique soon realized their humongous gaffe and issued an apology, coupled with a convenient excuse for their sheer stupidity. Apparently, their communication was handled abroad and they weren't aware of our news due to the time difference. I'm not sure if blaming the Europeans or the Prime Meridian are valid excuses, but if your clients include Kim K. and other celeb wannabes, I don't suppose it matters much.
Lessons:

1. Always a good idea to look before you tweet.
2. Sometimes it's actually beneficial to have an adult in charge of social media.

Next topic example comes from Chick-fil-A. Once again, they've fumbled with their anti-gay rights stance. This time, the controversy ignited when President Dan Cathy commented that he is “guilty as charged" of defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Cathy's mistake is in not understanding how this proclamation carries the weight of a $4 billion-dollar Goliath when he continues to express it on a public platform.

Cathy's statement caused Jim Henson Co. to back out of a partnership with the chain to make toys for kids' meals. Jim Henson Co. went further by running a full-page ad featuring the Muppets with a statement of their own: as a group embracing diversity, they would not do business with someone they perceived to be discriminatory. Despite a public apology and some backpedaling, the misstep has not gone away. Chick-fil-A's own Facebook page has been a hotbed of controversy as their critics have swarmed their page with hostile posts. The company's Facebook page continues to serve as a battleground for the gay marriage debate, as Chick-fil-A's similarly principled chicken-loving fans have come out in mass to defend the company's position.

It's unclear whether Chick-fil-A can keep alienating so many with this issue. It seems their sales are actually up (and if you believe their loyal Facebook fans, the chains are packing in record crowds during lunch this week). However, this just tells me that right-wing Christians enjoy chicken and will consume large quantities to show loyalty and prove their moral ground. Once this immediate call to eat more chikin subsides, I suspect Chick-fil-A's numbers will dip if they continue to confuse their agenda against gay marriage with the sale of tasty waffle fries. I suppose the Facebook banner advertisement announcing the peach milkshake is back will distract the angry mob somewhat until the dust settles on this one.

 Lessons:

1. If you want to drag religion and politics into the sale of fast food, pray that your side will eat more "chikin'" than the other side.
2. Peach? It's no Shamrock Shake. Seriously.