The internet was abuzz last week over the latest hashtag fail: Entenmann’s, an American baked goods company, committed a Twitter faux pas when it decided to use the right hashtag at the wrong time:
As #notguilty was a trending hashtag being used in direct relation to the Casey Anthony trial, Entenmann’s landed itself in a PR firestorm after this tweet. The company has since apologized and claimed the hashtag use was unintentional; however, many accused Entenmann’s of taking advantage of a serious situation to advertise its products. Only time will tell how badly this tweet will affect Entenmann’s.
Understanding how to properly use hashtags is the best way to avoid turning your company into a #hashtagfail, so here are a few etiquette tips:
Know how a #hashtag is being used
Using a hashtag correctly and in the right context will help keep your company out of a storm of bad publicity- a la Kenneth Cole. When in doubt, don’t use the hashtag at all.
Don’t invent your own unnecessary hashtags
Just as you should avoid putting out useless content, your followers will appreciate it if you avoid creating unnecessary hashtags like #iamhungry. Not only does it dumb down your brand, but it can also be perceived as a marketing ploy to enter the trending topics for no good reason.
Choose your hashtags carefully
If you decide to use a hashtag, such as for a new product you’re launching, be sure to use the right words to avoid any confusion or negative connotations. Hertfordshire Police ended up creating a bomb scare in the UK when it failed to follow this point.
Of course, the best advice I can give is to always be diligent about checking what you write before you hit the send button and to have a solid crisis communication in place for handling bad PR.
Elena is founder of a technology PR agency that works with startups to billion-dollar companies. She is passionate about helping marketers and small business owners with practical publicity strategies.
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[...] How to Avoid Being a Hashtag Fail [...]
[...] Any content that is inappropriate or has nothing to do with the corporation should be removed. Entenmann’s Baked Goods Company is an example of a hash tag gone wrong. Entenmann’s used the hash tag #notguilty. This was a [...]
[...] Any content that is inappropriate or has nothing to do with the corporation should be removed. Entenmann’s Baked Goods Company is an example of a hash tag gone wrong. Entenmann’s used the hash tag #notguilty. This was a [...]
[...] in a quick and timely manner. One example of a hag tag not being used properly is the one used by Entenmann’s Baked Goods Company. During the Casey Anthony trial, Entenmanns established the hash tag #notguilty which caused [...]
My God! Hashtags, diggs, and all of this trendy crapola will be history in very short time. Most people are annoyed by it, and the tiny miniscule market that you’re all chasing just to make it look like you’re all doing work marketing, without really achieving any truly measurable sale, is just a bunch of other ‘marketers’ like yourselves. The quicker you break out of your herd and realize facebook, twitter, and all that don’t translate into a single bean of market share, the sooner you’ll be heralded as marketing geniuses when your CEOs finally awake to the fact that all of there marketing departments have been just playing on social networking sites, lying to them about their so-called effectiveness.
Interesting that you feel that way Bill. Social marketing is not for everyone I agree, but there are a lot of businesses that would disagree with you – those that have landed clients through effective campaigns through these channels.
I came here hoping to learn what / when to use a hashtag. The purpose of one? Instead I get a very vague description if one is actually to be had. Who is “Bill” Elena????? really maybe you were talking about Al who is probably a more realistic thinker than youself. Whomever wrote this page should take it down totally not helping.