然而这次让麦当劳栽跟头的也正是这类打趣的Twitter内容。最好的例子来自@SkipSullivan。这位网友自称“在生活中是无所不能的多面手”，他发布了一则微博：“有一次，我刚走进麦当劳，就闻到空气中弥漫着2型糖尿病的味道，于是，我吐了。 #McDStories。”这听起来很恶心，而且也不可能发生，但人们就是觉得非常有趣。而麦当劳的财务表现一向出色，自然不希望人们看到公司的名字与糖尿病扯上任何关系。

    事实上，与麦当劳不同，Old Spice并非两极分化的品牌。这正是两家公司最关键的区别，纳皮尔认为，麦当劳早就应该知道这一点。诚然，虽然麦当劳正在尝试推出更健康的食物，但如果它试图利用互联网推动公司品牌与健康、天然食品之间的联系，肯定会有许多人对此公开表示质疑。纳皮尔称，这次社交媒体活动的发起过于仓促，在品牌转型过程中，任何一家公司都不应该对公众采取如此开放的态度。

    话虽如此，但麦当劳还是能够从中学到一些东西。对于空气传播糖尿病的微博，公司无能为力，但它可以针对关于公司门店、菜单或服务质量的投诉进行回复。纳皮尔认为，现在，麦当劳应该从这次失败的活动中收集数据，总结出消费者普遍提出的问题，予以改正。

    对于批评者来说，利用Twitter的确是一种不错的应对方式。例如本月，高中生维克多•冈萨雷斯在发给新英格兰爱国者队（New England Patriots）外接手查德•奥乔辛科的消息中抱怨称，两年来，自己一直热心地发布微博，但这位美国全国橄榄球联盟（NFL）球员却一直对这位狂热的球迷视而不见。对此，奥乔辛科在Twitter上进行了道歉，并邀请冈萨雷斯前往马萨诸塞州，观看爱国者队对阵野马队（Broncos）的季后赛比赛。这件事为奥乔辛科带来了不少的正面舆论，而代价只不过是一张机票而已。

    但对公司来说，也不能因为社交媒体活动的门槛低就掉以轻心。表面看来，进行社交媒体推广成本低廉，操作简单。但纳皮尔认为，要想取得良好效果，公司需要像其他市场营销活动一样，投入足够的时间和精力。“不可能贸然赶时髦，尤其是在社交媒体领域。”

    如果哪家公司想通过互联网征询网民的看法，最好还是做足心理准备，因为网民的评价有可能褒贬不一。通过更有创意的方式，征询网民对某个特定产品或服务的看法，也许更加有效。或者还可以采取更好的办法，那就是制作一些感人或有趣的内容，让网民们自由分享。

    译者：阿龙/汪皓

    That's the type of content that hijacked McDonald's campaign too. Case in point: @SkipSullivan, who describes himself as "pretty awesome at most things in life" on his Twitter profile, tweeted, "One time I walked into McDonalds and I could smell Type 2 diabetes floating in the air and I threw up. #McDStories." It's sick, it's impossible, but people thought it was funny. And McDonald's, which is performing well financially, doesn't want people to see its name and diabetes in the same sentence.

    A critical difference between the two companies' campaigns is that Old Spice isn't a polarizing brand, and McDonald's is. It should know this, says Napier. Sure, it's trying to introduce healthier food into its menus, but there's certainly a population of people who are going to balk, publicly, if McDonald's tries to push the connection between its brand and healthy, natural food. This social media campaign happened too soon, she says, and no company should open itself up this way when a branding shift is mid-stride.

    That being said, McDonald's could learn something. There isn't much it can do with the tweet about airborne diabetes, but McDonald's could respond to complaints about its stores, menu items, or the quality of service. Right now, they should be aggregating data from the failed campaign to see if there are any common concerns that the company can correct, Napier says.

    Twitter can actually be a great way to respond to detractors. For example, this month, high schooler Victor Gonzalez tweeted at New England Patriots wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, frustrated that the NFL player hadn't recognized his fandom despite his two years of avid tweeting. Ochocinco apologized on Twitter then flew Gonzalez to Massachusetts to see the Patriots play the Broncos in the playoffs. The story generated plenty of positive press for Ochocinco, all for the price of a plane ticket.

    But companies shouldn't be caught off guard by the low barrier to entry to a social media campaign, which can seem deceptively cheap and easy. For it to work, companies need to treat it with the same time and effort as other marketing efforts, Napier says. "You can't just jump on the latest trend, especially when you get into social media."

    Any company that tries to ask, "Hey Internet, what do you think about me?" should be prepared for a mixed response. It might be more effective to ask people, in a creative way, about a specific product or service. Or better yet, make something touching or hilarious, and invite the digital world to share it at will.