So, you’ve got yourself a social media account for your business – congrats! 

You’ve got plenty of ideas on what to post and can’t wait to share your company with the world. 

After all, how hard can it be? 

Here at Pitch, we come across plenty of businesses that want to manage their own Facebook, LinkedIn, X or Instagram accounts. 

Their optimism is admirable, and we always support whatever decisions our clients make when it comes to content. 

But if social media really was that simple, then there wouldn’t be a growing demand for skilled professionals who know what they’re doing in this field. 

Newsflash: social media poses huge challenges for companies, with both opportunity for growth but also potential for pitfalls. 

While there is no right way to use it, there are plenty of wrong ways. And to avoid making mistakes that can damage your business, you need to know what you’re doing. 

Whatever the industry, it’s always advisable to hire a professional if you want a professional job. Social media is no exception. 

But if you do decide to ‘go it alone’ then you should definitely take heed. 

Don’t believe us? 

Check out five of the biggest social media fails the World Wide Web has ever seen. 

As these examples demonstrate, social media is not easy – and sometimes even the professionals get it wrong! 

Five epic social media fails 👎

1. Burger King UK tweeted “Women belong in the kitchen.”

Sometimes too much creativity can be a detriment instead of an asset. 

Burger King UK apparently felt confident when it highlighted International Women’s Day on its social media content calendar in 2021, using the key phrase, “Women belong in the kitchen”. 

The slogan was supposed to raise awareness of the lack of gender diversity in the restaurant industry and promote a new scholarship program for female employees to pursue a culinary career among the dominance of male chefs. 

Unfortunately, the team responsible left the brand’s good intentions hidden in the fine print.

2. Woolworths’ ANZAC Day “fresh in our memories”

In 2015, the supermarket giant was accused of exploiting Anzac Day and Gallipoli for financial and commercial gain after it splashed the company logo and phrase “Fresh in our Memories” over photos of former soldiers. 

The website also invited users to create a custom profile picture and upload their own images of people affected by war. The generator then placed the words “Lest we forget, Anzac 1915-2015”, as well as the “Fresh in our Memories” phrase and the Woolworths’ logo. 

Not surprisingly, the campaign was scrapped following strong criticisms on social media and memes that hijacked the concept.

3. Aldi’s not so funny animal planters

Timing and context is everything in social media – a lesson that Aldi’s social media team had to learn pretty quickly in 2015. 

At a time when the supermarket was being hounded on social media by Animals Australia (and their customers) to stop selling caged eggs, Aldi posted an advert to its Facebook page highlighting some ‘funny farmyard animal planters’. 

Soon after the post went up, fans began furiously voicing their displeasure with the supermarket. 

Red faces all round. 

 4. McDonald’s hashtag campaign

In 2012, fast food giant McDonald’s famously got it wrong when it attempted consumer engagement via Twitter with hashtag #McDStories.  

The aim was to reduce the assumption about McDonald’s unhealthy image and create awareness of their fresh vegetables and high-quality meat by highlighting organic farmers. 

Unfortunately for the chain, the stories shared were mostly negative and drove customers away rather than appealing to them.

5. The great Russian Coca-Cola tweet

Coca-Cola sent out a tweet in 2016 with a cartoon image of Russia. The point was to demonstrate how much Russians love the soft drink. 

Sadly, the marketers used a pre-WWII map of Russia, which depicted the Russian Federation with the Crimean Peninsula in its borders.  

The result? Very annoyed Ukrainians, and the resultant hashtag #BanCocaCola.