Brands LOVE hearing from their fans, customers, and critics to find out what they are doing well and what they may be missing the boat on. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets are all great ways for people to share honest opinions and questions without the pressure of a face-to-face interaction. There are endless insights and opinions online that a brand may never hear otherwise.

As keen social media listeners ourselves, we witness a lot of social chatter directed toward brands day to day. While most of that chatter is extremely helpful for the social media marketer, there are definitely instances where you want to step aside from your polite Twitter persona and go all “Marc-Jacobs’s-intern” with your thoughts. Let’s see if we can make light of those special consumer-brand interactions so you can channel your frustrations before tweeting them.

Without further ado, we present you with The 5 Frustrating People Marketers Meet in Social Media:

1. The Rumor Mill Churner

Any brand can fall victim to gossip and rumors. It still doesn’t make it any easier to see the retweets infiltrating online conversations about your brand. Take the example of this tweet above: to ensure this tweet was an actual “rumor”, we did some quick research on the topic. According to the Committee for Education and Research on Toxins, virtually ALL coffee accumulates this culprit chemical during roasting. While there is truth that large doses may be unhealthy, it is unfair to associate this phenomenon with the brand (in this case, Starbucks) itself.

2. The “Haterade” Drinker 

Most brands appreciate a good critique, but there are some days when a social media marketer has zero patience for the haters. Be honest: you’ve all been there. Brands and their social media managers work hard to maintain a positive reputation, so sometimes comments can feel harsh, dramatic and undeserved. For all of you thinking about giving a piece of your mind about a brand or product,  bear in mind: Tweets cut deep.

Note: You cannot avoid Haterade drinkers. Instead, find ways to embrace their negatively charged mentions and balance them out by engaging in conversation. For example, Starbucks could tweet back to Mr. Anti-Green-Tea-Latte with a coupon to give another drink a try or purchase an old favorite. You may not be able to change everyone’s mind, but at the very least, it shows other followers you’re listening to their comments – the good, the bad and the ugly!

3. The Insult-Compliment Giver

These types of people are being negative and positive towards your brand, and really that isn’t fair. Don’t we just wish they’d pick a side and stick to it? “Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference.”

4. The Distasteful Threat Tweeter

These are thoughts you may think to yourself in your head for a brief millisecond before they vanish forever, or maybe they are shouted to your best friend over the phone after a bad customer service experience. In reality, this person is in no way being literal. Though I doubt the above tweet has any truth to it, once posted online it takes on an aggressive or even scary tone. Though these types of tweets are meant to be taken lightly, they can come as a frustration when scrolling through your brand’s online conversations. No need to panic, Bank of America Social Media Marketer.

5. The Slang Abuser

You know how it goes. You are scrolling through your brand mentions when something stops you in your tracks. Something that makes your co-workers inquire if you are okay because your eyebrows are furrowed and your head is tilted so much that it’s as if your earring has turned into a 20lb weight. What is the problem? It’s a tweet that has nothing to do with anything your marketing team has been trying to promote about your brand. It’s usually inappropriate, often slang and sometimes a direct lyric from a hip hop song. Maybe we blame hip hop for these metaphorical marketing mishaps, but here at uberVU would never do such a thing. It isn’t Lil Wayne’s fault that people are using and abusing brand names all across the Twittersphere. Ultimately, we just feel sorry for the social media marketers who have to sift through these less-than-flattering adaptations every day.

So there you have it, social media marketers – all the therapy you need to get you through the week (or at the very least, day)! While it’s great to joke about the frustrations we encounter day-to-day, the best part about this job is that for every one of these 5 Frustrating people, there are many more looking to make social media a happy, productive place to be. In light of all of the amazing people and conversations we encounter every day, stay tuned next week for a post about “The 5 People you Meet in Social Media Heaven.”

Tagged as: social media, social media management, social media marketing, twitter