Okay. You’ve had a great idea for a viral marketing campaign. What could go wrong?  Jon Ronson, author of The Men Who Stare at Goats and the recently released, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed has a lesson for all of us. Currently touring Australia, he is definitely worth a lesson for anyone dipping their toes in to social media marketing.

 

 

That lesson is Justine Sacco. We bet you’ve never heard of her, but she is essentially the poster-girl for what can go wrong with one single tweet.

On December 20 2013, Justine was boarding a flight from London to South Africa. As the Director of Corporate Communications at International Interactive Centre (IAC), she knew her way around managing different media issues. After all, the IAC owns Vimeo, OKCupid and Daily Beast, so thee was ample opportunity to deal with various diasters.

However, while wandering Heathrow Airport on this fateful day, Justine fired off what was meant to be an ironic tweet.

“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

She chuckled, turned off her phone and though no more of it – especially given she only had 170 followers.

 

 

Eleven hours later, Justine Sacco arrived in South Africa and turned her mobile back on. The first thing she saw was a text message from a friend saying “I’m so sorry to see what’s happening.” Understandably, she was confused.

In the time Justine had been in the air, the number one hashtag circulating the Twittersphere had suddenly become #HasJustineLandedYet. Tens of thousands of tweets featured the tag as people took digital offence to the original quip, and it was almost sport to watch the drama unfold on a Friday evening in the United States.

As can be the case with social media, the hate towards her was immeasurable.

“In light of @Justine-Sacco disgusting racist tweet, I’m donating to @care today”

“How did @JustineSacco get a PR job?! Her level of racist ignorance belongs on Fox News. #AIDS can affect anyone!”

Then, while utterly ignorant of the unfolding drama, Justine's job was in the metaphorical firing line.

“This is an outrageous, offensive comment. Employee in question currently unreachable on an intl flight.”

Meanwhile, those watching from the sidelines heaped misery on the pile with glee.

“All I want for Christmas is to see @JustineSacco’s face when her plane lands and she checks her inbox/voicemail”

“Oh man, @JustineSacco is going to have the most painful phone-turning-on moment ever when her plane lands”

“We are about to watch this @JustineSacco bitch get fired. In REAL time. Before she even KNOWS she’s getting fired.”

It was extraordinary. A largely anonymous audience relished the opportunity to unleash a tsunami of negativity on a victim they would never have to deal with face-to-face. As such, Justine Sacco has spent the last two years picking up the fragments of her self-esteem and her career.

The message is pretty simple. Be sure that at all times any social media campaign you are conducting is carefully monitored. Qantas and Woolworths - both companies with far bigger marketing budgets than yours – have definitely learned the hard way.

 

 

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So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed is available now through Pan MacMillan Australia

(The New York Times)