One of the reasons why social media marketing services are so important to the success of a modern marketing campaign is because social media, by its very nature, is a harsh mistress. There is no shortage of examples to cite in support of that claim.

One recent story that caught our eye is that of Vogue Magazine catching heat on Twitter and elsewhere as a result of an essay on Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid, which some people regarded as badly misrepresenting the concept of gender fluidity. We’re not going to come down as either for or against the article; what’s of interest to us is just how Vogue’s in-house social media marketing services had to handle the backlash.

Over-Sensitive?

What’s interesting about this story is what it says about the fickle nature of social media, where sensitive topics are concerned. The magazine’s editorial staff clearly indicated that the article was meant to be a positive comment on the effect of gender fluidity on fashion. And it would be hard to dispute that claim, but it doesn’t change the earnestness of the offense that quickly took off on social media.

Some people would use this as evidence for the claim that we are living in an era of over-sensitivity. We’re not going to come down on one side or the other here, either. But the reality is that it’s not just deliberate insensitivity that leads to social media scandals. Sometimes good intentions can bite you, and when they do, social media marketing services ought to be available to help you salvage the intended impact of your customer interactions.

Be Informed

Of course, if you’re aware of the unpredictability of social media ahead of time, you will first utilize social media marketing services to try to stay ahead of any possible controversies or miscommunications.

This may not always be possible, but it is certainly much more likely if you are working with a social media and web marketing company that can help you by running analytics on your customer engagement and your chosen target markets. This can serve the purpose of identifying topics that are frequently discussed among that audience, and thus also topics that might require a particularly light touch.

This is not to say that you necessarily must steer clear of them. In fact, they might be useful in garnering additional attention. But even if your intentions are good, you should be prepared for backlash, and your social media marketing services should be prepared to meet that head on.

Stay Engaged

Although it may be a little too early to tell, Vogue seems to have handled its well-intentioned flub admirably. It very quickly recognized the controversy and put out a statement, via its website and social media profiles, explaining the discrepancy between its concept and the audience’s impressions.

Early and recurring engagement can definitely help prevent unexpected controversies from snowballing into something much more damaging for your brand. But of course, it is very difficult to sustain that kind of engagement without the help of independent social media marketing services. By employing them, you can help to make sure that you avoid the worst impacts of social media gaffes without giving up the benefit of engaging people over their most sensitive interests.