By Elyn Buscani, Business Development

Everyone can probably recall a famous marketing blunder. I still remember the story I heard decades ago of why the Chevy Nova was not selling in Mexico (“Nova” literally means “No go” in Spanish. Definitely not a feature you want in your new car). With social media, thousands of people can instantly share and reshare your fail, like they did with this #MotivationMonday tweet from Chase Bank. You may be so hesitant to make a mistake on social media that it renders you mute. Even if you have 365,000 Twitter followers, like Chase had at the time, you can still bravely recover and get back out there.

Full disclosure here: I am one of the few people at Rasor who did not have to pass a rigorous writing and editing test just to get an interview. Yes, it’s completely intimidating writing anything when I’m surrounded by such excellent and creative wordsmiths. I just follow these tips and keep at it:

1. Acknowledge the fail. It’s the first rule of good public relations: accountability and apology. Mistakes are something to learn and grow from. If you have a social media blunder – whether it’s a simple typo or a horrifying gaffe that’s not in line with company values or goals – acknowledge it appropriately and humbly, apologize succinctly, and then turn your efforts to preventing it in the future.
2. Proof everything. Multiple times. At Rasor, we call it the “second pair of eyes.” We reach out to someone else on our team to double check anything that will represent Rasor or our clients. The added bonus of a second proofreader is that he or she may catch something in your writing that could cause some social media fallout you didn’t anticipate. If you don’t have the incredible resources of proofreaders that I do, there are a number of free grammar checking apps like Grammarly and more in this review.
3. Boost your creativity. Here are some simple tips including the first one, which is to take a walk. I agree that fresh air and sunshine can boost both your mood and your creativity. We often pull in other people on our team for a group brainstorming session. Even though we’re all working remotely, we still generated dozens of blog ideas in a recent session.
4. Algorithms reward frequency. LinkedIn and other social media platforms will promote those who post regularly and often. At Rasor, we have posting schedules for all our platforms and our monthly newsletters, and that keeps us on track. Be sure to follow us on LinkedIN, Facebook, and on our really fun, always entertaining Twitter account led by our intern. We regularly share writing, creativity, and social media strategy tips that can benefit everyone.

So ramp up your social media bravely. Keep in mind that we’re all human and we all make mistakes. If the events of 2020 have taught us anything, it’s that everyone is vulnerable and we all need to be generous with grace.