Jump to navigation

Will Your Awesomely Tone-Deaf Social Media Post Spread Like Wildfire?

No one wants to create bland social media posts. You want your name and message to be re-posted and shared by millions. Who doesn’t want to create the next Ice Bucket Challenge, have a Twitter feed as cool as Wendy’s or have more than 29 million followers on Instagram like Adidas?

You can try to cut through the social media fog created by its estimated nearly 3.5 billion users any number of ways. Your post can try to leverage a breaking news event; it could be compelling, funny, useful, helpful, ironic; or you could engage in that social media stock in trade: snark.

Chase bank may have been trying to be helpful and snarky, but went straight to tone deaf with a tweet last week that earned the bank far more negative attention than it could’ve imagined. The tweet was advice from a bank account to a person complaining there wasn’t enough money in it.

Many people didn’t take kindly to sarcastic advice to pinch pennies from a bank that received a $25 billion taxpayer-funded bailout and whose CEO made $31 million last year. After an avalanche of negative reactions, including being Twitter fodder for politicians, Chase pulled the tweet off Twitter.

How can you prevent a bad social media situation, or deal with one if it occurs? Here is some advice.

  • One lawyer’s public racist rant: Mistakes made and lessons learned
  • Crock-Pot’s Response to ‘This is Us’ Is a Lesson in Crisis Communications
  • Avoiding Law Firm Social Media Crises

When it comes to social media posts, you can be creative and swing for the fences — but be careful that you don’t mistakenly break your nose with the bat. Think carefully about how a post may be received by the general public, especially if your attempt at humor may end up being at your own expense.

How can Jaffe help?

We can help you develop a smart social media strategy and craft messaging that tells your story effectively throughout all your social media channels while consistently maintaining your brand. If you would like to learn more about how a properly executed social media campaign can help your professional services firm, contact Jaffe at info@jaffepr.com for more information. 

Additional Insights

Create Consistency with Law Firm Style Guides
5 Steps to Creating a Purpose-Driven PR Plan
The Ins and Outs of Partner Departures and Lateral Hires

Subscribe today!

Join over 10,000 people who
receive our weekly legal marketing
best practice tips and news.

SIGN UP NOW
  • About
  • Services
    • Business Development
    • Public Relations
    • Branding
    • Content Marketing
    • RankingsForLawyers®
    • Website/Digital Marketing
    • Social Media
    • Creative Services
    • Multimedia
  • Our Team
  • Our Work
    • Portfolio
    • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Attorney Advertising Rules by State
    • Insights
    • News and Events
    • Policy Templates
      • Law Firm Blogging Policy Template
      • Law Firm Crisis Communications Policy Template
      • Law Firm Media Policy Template
      • Social Media Policy Template
      • Law Firm AI Policy Template
  • Contact Us
Adapt to change.

Proud Business Partner of

Connect With Us

Subscribe to our emails

Join over 10,000 people who receive weekly
legal marketing tips and news.

SIGN UP

Quick Links

Careers >
Contact Us >
Our Team >
News >
Blogs >
Insights >

Locations

Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Illinois
Massachusetts
Maryland
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Texas
Virginia
Jaffe 1025 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20036 P: 877.808.9600
Disclaimer Site Map © 2026