Forest Gump once said “Stupid is what stupid does“. Despite how Forest Gump appeared in the movie, he actually was very smart, even in a simple way. But smart does not seem to be the everyday standard when it comes to business and social media usage. One has to be very careful about what one does on social media. Being stupid could hurt your brand in Halifax, Dartmouth, Truro or elsewhere. You are never to small to be noticed…. “All around the world“.

Now I know that people make mistakes. But that’s not what I am talking about here. Mistakes are good. If you are not making mistakes, you are not learning or growing. What I am talking about here is utter carelessness on the part of the person doing social media. Maybe they are trying to take advantage of a situation without fully understanding the consequences of their careless actions.

Let me share an example from American Apparel:

American-Apparel-sandy-sale-hurricaneThis Ad is just plain stupid. American Apparel is asking people to come to the store for a measly 20% right in the middle of a hurricane. People are losing their homes, people are getting hurt, the power is out in many locations, roads are blocked, and American Apparel’s suggestion is a sale. Come on! If they were thinking right, they might have sent a message of support to the affected areas. Does anyone need a sale right in the middle of a hurricane?

Social media is full of people doing stupid things because of carelessness of their part. They are simply not thinking.

When you do your posting on social media, always look the post over. Check to see if there is anything offensive or silly. Is the timing of the post correct?

One of the best pieces of social media wisdom I have ever heard came from a police conference. It was this…. “Don’t do anything stupid”. Let me encourage you to think before you press the Submit or Post button.

Let me wish you a great day of business today. Let’s be smart out there 🙂