You need a social media business profile to promote your business. Social media marketing is important to build brand awareness, drive traffic, and grow your leads.
The importance of social media in business is there, but one wrong step can ruin your online presence and spark controversy that can damage your business profile. Brand fails on social media are massive, but they can be prevented with a little effort.
Using social media best practices, you can make the most out of your social media campaigns without risking your brand reputation.
We have 10 social media fails from major brands and small businesses, you can use them as examples and follow our social media tips to avoid your business from making the same mistake.
You need to run campaigns to increase social media engagement, but if you get attention for the wrong reasons, it will seriously hurt your reputation.
If your social media campaigns have a hint of racism, sexism, or an economic bias, you will face backlash that can be the end of your business.
Here are 10 social media fails that destroyed the social media presence of well-known companies and got their PR team make a run for their money.
1. Duolingo’s Death Controversy
Duolingo is a language-learning app. You must have seen their owl mascot even if you haven’t used the app. The platform went viral online in February 2025 over a tweet for all the wrong reasons.
They announced that Duo, their owl mascot, died in an accident. After a week, they announced that the mascot faked its death so users would complete their Duolingo assignments and language lessons.
While the brand is not known for unconventional marketing, fans didn’t like this stunt. Some audience members celebrated that the owl was back, but the majority saw it as a cheap marketing stunt to catch attention.
People said that in pressing real-world issues, this stunt was a cheap way to get attention.
2. Apple Appeared To Crush Creativity
Apple has built its image around serving creatives and innovators, especially through its “Think Different” campaign. So when the 2024 iPad Pro ad got attention online, that was expected.
What wasn’t expected was the wave of criticism Apple faced instead of support. They used a hydraulic press to crush creative tools like instruments and cameras into an iPad Pro.
The tech giant wanted to show that the iPad can do it all. But it did not impress viewers; the destruction of those tools felt like a disregard for creativity itself. Apple got immediate backlash.
Many said the ad disrespected creatives and their work, calling it soulless and out of touch with what makes us human. The ad felt out of touch at a time when there’s a growing concern about AI replacing human creativity and jobs.
Apple had to respond for damage control, they said: “We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.”
3. Burger King UK International Women’s Day X post
The best time to post on social media is on special holidays. You can get a lot of eyeballs, but it can become an epic social media fail for your business if handled poorly. Burger King UK is the perfect example.
In 2021, they highlighted International Women’s Day in a clickbait tweet. While their intention was good, it was hidden in the thread. They tweeted on X:
“Women belong in the kitchen.”
The idea behind the post was to raise awareness of the lack of gender diversity in the culinary industry and promote a scholarship program for female employees to end the dominance of male chefs.
But these good intentions were hidden in the thread, and their initial tweet got all the negative attention because it was an outdated stereotype and was posted on International Women’s Day.
Burger King UK faced a lot of backlash, and they had to delete their initial tweet and post an apology.
4. Robinhood Missed With Its Super Bowl Ad
In 2021, Robinhood spent over $5 million on a Super Bowl ad and shared it on X. The ad promoted financial inclusion. The message was: “We are all investors.”
Robinhood said that they saw everyone as equal, regardless of their circumstances. But the timing backfired. At the time, they were facing backlash for restricting trades by everyday investors.
People saw their message as insincere. Robinhood blocked trading for AMC and GameStop after the Reddit group Wall Street Bets drove up interest.
As retail traders clashed with hedge funds betting against the stocks, the company said it didn’t have enough funds to handle the surge in activity. Customers didn’t buy Robinhood’s excuse.
After the Super Bowl ad aired and was posted online, people guessed that’s where the money went. The backlash on X was immediate, and people were calling the company criminals, accusing it of hating average investors.
5. McDonald’s meme-jacking Ad
Here is an example from McDonald’s of what not to post on social media. McDonald’s posted one of their ads from 2020 on Reddit that was using the “Hungry, but too tired to cook” meme.
Many of McDonald’s followers didn’t recognize the niche meme, leaving people confused. It is because memes don’t last long, usually just a few weeks.
Despite having a broad and diverse audience, McDonald’s shared a niche meme that only a small online group would get. Most followers were just left confused and saw it as just some random text.
This was one of the biggest social media fails by them. When using social media for marketing, always keep your audience in mind. If your audience is broad, avoid posting niche memes that most people won’t understand.
Meme-jacking (using trending memes) is a great way to get audience attention, but if you use social media trends, timing is everything.
6. Gap Divided Audiences With A Unity Call At The Wrong Time
People have intense feelings during elections, and the 2020 presidential election was no different. But Gap had other plans for Election Day. They put all the divisions behind and posted a half-blue, half-red Gap hoodie being zipped up.
This was to symbolize both sides, Democrats and Republicans, coming together. But after months of intense political tension, people weren’t ready to move on, and they made that clear.
Gap faced backlash for being tone-deaf and pushing false balance. Some users committed “read the room,” showing it was one of the biggest brand fails on social media on the election day.
They deleted the post and admitted the hoodie was made just for social media. If their goal was to get attention on a busy news day, it worked. But the attention was mostly negative and didn’t do them any good.
7. Bioré’s TikTok Creator Faking Authenticity
As a brand, you want to project yourself as someone who cares about the issues of your customers. But it’s not a good idea to enter every conversation. Bioré learned it the hard way in 2023.
The skincare brand partnered with a TikTok influencer during Mental Health Awareness Month to promote their pore strips. The influencer claimed that their product can “strip away the stigma of anxiety.”
A bold claim that went viral. The influencer attended college where a recent school shooting occurred and wanted to talk about her anxiety to raise mental health awareness.
But linking that trauma to promote pore strips was far from ideal. People criticized her and Bioré for using a tragedy to promote skincare.
The social media traffic and attention, but it is still a big brand fail on social media. Bioré looked as if it were using mental health (a serious issue) to boost sales, and they later issued a public apology.
8. Chase Blamed Customers For Poor Finances
You can use trending hashtags to increase your reach on social media. But if you don’t know how to use social media hashtags effectively, it can backfire.
Something similar happened with Chase in 2019 when they tried to inspire with a “#MondayMotivation” post on X. Their message did not translate the way they hoped.
The post showed a made-up chat between a person and their bank account, asking why their balance was low after spending on takeout and cabs.
People saw the post as Chase blaming customers for being low on money. The backlash increased since the bank has faced criticism for practices that benefit the wealthy.
They ignored larger economic issues that are outside customers’ control. Senator Elizabeth Warren responded with a sarcastic reply using the same format, calling out the bank’s lack of awareness.
Chase followed up with a new tweet: “Our #MondayMotivation is to get better at #MondayMotivation tweets. Thanks for the feedback, Twitter world.”
But the issue didn’t fade. Days later, Senator Warren kept the spotlight on the bank by publishing a CNN op-ed criticizing its actions.
9. Netflix’s “Cuties” Trailer Wasn’t Cute
When a streaming platform picks up a new movie, it promotes it with a trailer on social media advertising platforms. But in 2020, Netflix faced major backlash after posting a trailer for Cuties on social media.
The film had already played at Sundance and premiered in France. But Netflix’s trailer made it look much more controversial than the coming-of-age story it was.
The trailer got outrage on X, and people accused Netflix of sexualizing young girls. The backlash increased when a viral poster showed the 11-year-old characters in revealing outfits and suggestive poses.
Petitions demanded the film’s removal, and “#CancelNetflix” was trending on X. The director of the film, who had no role in the marketing, said she received death threats over the controversy.
Some politicians even pushed for legal action against Netflix. The backlash lasted for weeks, drowning out the film’s positive reviews despite its 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and overshadowing its real message.
Netflix later changed the poster and admitted the original was “not OK” and didn’t reflect the film.
10. Ryanair’s Taking Brand Humor Too Far
Organic social media is a great way to show your brand personality and interact with your audience online. The European budget airline, Ryanair, stands out for doing this well with its bold, humorous posts.
Ryanair’s social media posts are humorous and snarky memes, something its followers have come to expect. But one tweet mocking its own cabin crew crossed the line.
The online audience found it disrespectful, and in a rare move, the airline quietly deleted the post. Ryanair has done well with its organic social media for the most part.
They have a clear brand voice and keep followers engaged. But it’s not without missteps. Straying from the usual approach can work, but only if it stays respectful. Their unique voice is good, as long as it doesn’t cross the line.
You have to use social media for business, but if you’re not sure how, you can prevent fails on social media. We have expert tips that can help you avoid social media fails.
1. Find Your Audience
Social media won’t work if you don’t know your target audience. You have to clearly define your audience before building your marketing strategy and selling on social media.
This can be done by learning who your customers are, what problems they face, where they spend time online, and what content they want. You can use this to decide what to post and where.
Best brands on social media create customer personas to effectively target their audience and build genuine connections. This helps you create social media campaigns with the right messaging that increase your brand loyalty.
Your social media viewers are also your brand ambassadors when they reshare your content. To make sure your campaigns get the right kind of attention, think about not just your audience, but who they’re sharing it with.
2. Choose The Right Social Media Platform
Small businesses come to us and ask, which social media should I use? They think it’s a complicated process, but it’s really simple. You have to use social media platforms where your audience spends the most time.
Choosing the right platforms means you have to understand what makes each platform unique and how to use it effectively. Each social platform has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, you can use LinkedIn for effective B2B online marketing.
3. Be Consistent
Your words matter in social media marketing. You have to be consistent with your brand identity to create successful social media campaigns. This helps your audience better associate with your brand.
When you have an inconsistent brand voice, your audience will get confused and consider your business inauthentic in some cases. To avoid this, just be consistent across your online advertising.
Connect with customers on a deeper level and appeal to them on an emotional level. You can do that by using the same language as your customers. It is called the “voice of the customer.”
This will help your brand feel relatable and trustworthy because you’re speaking their language, not marketing jargon.
Use hashtags that are meaningful and safe, and share reliable information. This strategy shapes your messaging around what your audience wants.
4. Use A Content Calendar
Business owners and marketing teams handle many tasks, but social media shouldn’t be an afterthought. If it’s you will see lots of social media fails.
A content calendar and the best social media schedulers make it easy to plan ahead and keep your social media active and consistent. This also keeps your whole team on the same page about what’s going out and when.
You can use these to prevent mistakes like posting something inappropriate on a holiday, which could hurt your brand.
5. Use Social Listening
The right content matters, but you can’t create it in isolation. You have to keep an eye on brand mentions, competitor posts, trending hashtags, and relevant keywords to stay on top.
Social listening tools can help you here. They spot trends and can help you understand what your audience wants by analyzing posts from competitors and customers.
To build stronger connections, stay active, respond to mentions, answer questions, and leave positive comments when you can.
6. Encourage Engagement
Customers love to engage with brands, and they love it when a brand reciprocates. So it’s a good idea to interact with its followers and not just post at them.
Your brand doesn’t have to go all out; simply replying to customer questions on social media platforms can work. Honestly answering questions builds trust and shows you care about your customers.
The best part is that this encourages more people to interact with your brand. Use social media management tools to track interactions and show customers you’re listening.
Here is an example of how Wendy’s pulled this off:
Carter Wilkerson posted on X and asked the food chain how many retweets he would have to get to receive a year of free chicken nuggets.
Wendy’s simple reply was with 18 million. See how little effort it took. Today, this is known as the famous case of #NuggsForCarter.
7. Know When To Stay On The Sidelines
Being active on social media doesn’t mean you need to jump on every trend or news story. Your business has to stay away from controversial topics that don’t relate to your brand.
Even harmless posts can backfire if they come off as fake or out of place. This goes for active campaigns, too. Things change quickly, and what works one day might cause backlash the next.
If that happens, act fast to keep your brand from becoming part of the problem.
8. Have A Crisis Plan
At some point, something can go wrong. If that happens its important how how respond to it. A crisis plan in place helps you act fast and keep things from getting worse.
You have to be clear about what happened, take responsibility, and apologize when needed. This reputation management strategy will humanize your business and do damage control.
9. Edit, And Then Edit Again
The lesson from these social media fails is that social media moves fast, and the smallest of mistakes can cost you. One wrong post can trigger backlash and damage your brand. To avoid this, always double-check the following details:
- Is the message business-focused or personal? You have to keep brand posts free of personal views.
- Will the post connect with your target audience? Make sure your message speaks to them.
- Could the wording or image be misunderstood? Get input before posting. Once it’s live, there’s no undo button.
Stick to these tips to stay on the safe side:
- Keep content family-friendly to avoid pushing people away.
- Only support causes, partners, or other brands if you’re ready to stand by that choice, even if it causes backlash.
- Double-check spelling and grammar every time.
- Get written permission before using content that isn’t yours.
- If you use a custom hashtag, check that no one else is using it. If it already exists, make sure it fits your brand and message.
What is an example of a social media fail?
Most social media fails happen because brands do not understand their audience or their messaging is inauthentic. For example, the most common brand fails on social media is businesses using common slang to sound trendy and appeal to a young audience.
What is the 5 5 5 rule on social media?
The 5-5-5 rule in social media is a strategy for engagement where you dedicate 5 minutes to a social media platform, and within that time, like 5 posts, and comment on 5 posts. You can use this rule for a direct connection with your audience to increase your engagement.
What brands have a poor social media presence?
H&M, Pepsi, Dolce & Gabbana, American Apparel, and United Airlines have a poor social media presence. These brands poorly executed their social media campaigns, which damaged their reputation.
What are the biggest mistakes brands make on social media?
The biggest mistakes brands make on social media are:
- Sounding inauthentic or too corporate.
- Inconsistent posting
- Not using data-driven strategies
- Mass-sharing the same content
- Ignoring your team and their suggestions
- Thinking engaging is optional.
