Takeaways from Beyoncé’s bawdy Red Lobster nod

When Beyoncé surprised fans by giving Red Lobster a titillating nod in her new single “Formation,” Twitter wanted the organization to respond.

It took marketers eight hours to issue a response on the group’s Twitter feed; once they did, social media users still weren’t satisfied.

News organizations and marketing groups bashed the seafood chain on social media for not responding fast enough to her mention of a Red Lobster dinner as a reward for great sex.

Social media managers are under immense pressure to offer fast and timely responses to any mention of their brand. Often, this pressure prompts marketers to latch on to other brands’ moments of glory.

As marketers, it’s our job to promote conversations about the value of branding, preparedness and reputation management, but we should be wary of exploitation. Instead of bashing Red Lobster on Twitter, marketers should have commended the organization’s success.

Here are the facts:

The mention generated more than 300,000 tweets about Red Lobster.

Red Lobster trended on Twitter for the first time in the brand’s history.