Why Businesses Need to Understand Hashtags

In September of 2014 DiGiorno Pizza company made a terrible social media mistake. The company posted a tweet “You had Pizza” with the hashtag “whyIstayed” on Twitter. The “whyIstayed” hashtag started trending after Baltimore Raven’s player Ray Rice’s then fiancée decided to stay with Ray after a domestic violence video went public. The tag was used to fight victim-blaming by thousands. Before the company made this mistake, they were known as a company that successful used twitter to connect with customers and use swift humor to attract new followers. 

DiGiorno’s blunder was a simple mistake of not looking up the context of the hashtag before posting the tweet. Although it was taken down within minutes, DiGiorno has put a lot of work into handling the situation. Customer service representatives responded to every individual’s concerns personally and took responsibility for their mistake. Some of the apologies include, “It was late and I got sloppy. A rare mistake, I promise you. Never again. I’m so sorry, Kim.” In addition to, “It was terrible, I admit. But a complete misunderstanding. I did not check the hash and am trying to apologize to everyone.”

DiGiorno is just the latest company to make the same mistake many other companies have. Twitter can be a great free way to attract followers and increase customer loyalty but it is also easier to post something carelessly. Another company that failed to look at what a trending hashtag meant was Entenmann’s. The pastry company used the hashtag “notguilty” in their tweet but failed to notice that the tag was trending because of the Casey Anthony trial result. Unlike DiGiorno, Entenmann’s abandoned their twitter page so now those who find it only see all the negative publicity they received and no comment from the company.