With social media becoming an increasingly popular way to connect with customers, businesses everywhere are setting up Twitter accounts, Facebook Pages and more.  Actually, I find it perplexing when a product or company is not represented on social media websites.  As an up-and-coming public relations professional, I’ve been learning all the positive aspects of social media.  For example, you can easily partake in dialogue with customers, it’s fast, it’s free, and it’s far reaching.  But can social media lead to bad PR?

There are two instances that stand out in my mind where social media has caused a problem for companies.  In February, Southwest Airlines was involved in a social media disaster.  Filmmaker and actor Kevin Smith claimed that a Southwest Airlines employee told him he is “too fat” to fly.  Smith then contacted Southwest Airlines via Twitter about the incident.  One tweet read:

“Wanna tell me I’m too wide for the sky? Totally cool. But fair warning, folks: IF YOU LOOK LIKE ME, YOU MAY BE EJECTED FROM @SOUTHWESTAIR.”

Southwest Airlines responded through Twitter also, and eventually issued an apology on their blog.

Another example of social media gone wrong is Honda’s online campaign for their new vehicle, the Honda Accord Crosstour.  The company set up a Facebook Page where pictures of the vehicle’s design were shown to fans.  Unfortunately for Honda, the response was not what they may have expected.  The pictures were flooded with negative comments about the design of the car.

Things may have been looking up when one commenter stated he would purchase the car if he could.  Then it was made apparent that the commenter was Honda’s product manager.

Though social media is extremely useful in business, it can lead to problems if not used effectively.  Given the viral nature of social media, word travels faster than ever these days.  So be careful what you tweet, be responsive to customers and be honest with the people who are potentially spending money on your product.