In terms of social media, we tend to think that larger, well-known companies have it all figured out.  You know- they construct the perfect viral Facebook campaign, invent insanely clever hashtags, and are using an array of different social sites perfectly.  Even if they do encounter a complaint, they know how to resolve it perfectly.  With budgets like theirs, how could they ever screw up?  Right? Wrong!

This past week, our favorite dollar menu destination, McDonalds, proved that a large corporation with a huge following can really put their foot in their mouth.  The campaign seemed innocent enough– they wanted their Twitter followers to help them paint a warm fuzzy picture of their past McDonald’s experiences using the hashtag #McDStories.  Here’s what some people said:

Ouch.

This isn’t the first time McDonald’s has struggled on Twitter.  Back in 2010, they tried to promote the return of the McRib by paying to promote the phrase “McRib is Back.”  Unfortunately, fans used the phrase to say things like, “McRib is back and it’s as bad as you remember.”  One tweet summarized the problem when they said, “I like how 90% of the tweets related to the promoted ‘McRib is back’ are making fun of it.”

For all the good that can stem from a Twitter campaign, brands need to recognize that they involve an inevitable lack of control.  Once a hashtag or phrase takes off, it is impossible to stop.  This is vastly different from Facebook, where social media managers can oversee the reaction to a campaign.  In order for a Twitter campaign to work, the hashtag should start organically or really resonate with the target.

But don’t worry, McDonald’s isn’t the only large company screwing up.  Wendy’s also attempted the delicate art of the hashtag.  They used #WheresTheBeef as a promotion tool.  I’ll let you guess what happened.  Another screw-up was Chapstick.  Yup, sweet, innocent Chapstick managed to get themselves in one of the biggest social media fails of the last year.  Oops.

These various failures by McDonalds and others show just how confusing social media marketing can be.  It also demonstrates how social media levels the playing field when it comes to promotions.  Smaller businesses have the power to become great and larger businesses can be brought to their knees.  Unfortunately, it also shows that companies like McDonald’s can throw away money on experimental campaigns– which smaller companies could never afford.

What do you think of McDonald’s Twitter struggles?