46 . Glasgow Business August 2016


BIG TALKS By Caitlin Boag, Account Executive, The BIG Partnership


Social media - the lesson is think before you type


The power of Facebook and Twitter could change the future of your business Y


ou may be aware of a recent almighty social media meltdown at the hands of a wedding


planner at Balgonie Castle, Fife. A Balgonie bride-to-be took to a


popular Facebook bridal page to ask a question regarding her venue’s payment method. Te post in question gave very litle detail about her big day and at no point named the location. However, the bride’s wedding planner came across the post and decided to publicly identify the venue in question. Te wedding planner felt that


the time had come to use the very public platform of Facebook to spout her opinion on not only the bride in question but also every other ‘Bridezilla’ that had used Balgonie Castle in the past. Within a mater of hours, the


conversation had been shared more than a thousand times, the media had covered the story and #boycotbalgonie had begun trending on Facebook and Twiter. Even with a public apology from Balgonie’s wedding planner and the castle’s laird, the damage was done. Facebook has been around for


more than 10 years now and there’s no excuse for not knowing how it works. You should know that once you start a conversation or thread online there’s no going back. Social media should be treated as if it’s one of your most important clients. People are becoming more and


more social media savvy and know exactly how to manipulate online situations. For example, when we


see content we like, we engage with it (share, like, comment). Why? Because we know that’s how we get other users to see it. Well, that’s what happened when one user saw the posts from Balgonie’s wedding planner. Tey were shared with the intention for others to feel the same outrage. Over the last 10 years, Facebook


has changed dramatically, including the way it uses people to exploit businesses. Tis is demonstrated in the platform’s introduction of reactions. Now we’re not just restricted to ‘liking’ a post, we can also show ‘anger’, ‘love’, ‘shock’ ‘laughter’ and ‘sadness’. Te Facebook posts will,


without a doubt, have an impact on Balgonie Castle as a business; it almost certainly faces years of rebuilding its now tarnished reputation. Now, not only fellow brides but a much wider audience associate this historic, beautiful castle with a rather embarrassing social media faux-pas. Social media users took a stand and called out for people to boycot the venue, forcing the venue to delete its Facebook page and release a statement on its website advising that it no longer has a wedding planner. In this re-posting, re-tweeting


and ‘screenshoting’ era, we should all be aware of the immense impact social media can have on our personal and professional lives. So please, learn from this experience and type with caution - or, like Balgonie’s wedding planner, you could be in for a frosty reception.


“We should all be aware of the immense impact social media can have on our personal and professional lives”


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