Reflection on Social Media Case 1: McDStories


Hashtags can be a very powerful tool for businesses using social media. They can be used for campaigns and a way to rally people around ideas, products, and connection. There are many pros and cons to using hashtags. Personally, I believe the most salient pro is how hashtags allow people to join a conversation and have dialogue. The hashtag groups certain topics together, so it promotes a space for people to rally around concepts and to come together. You can see this through hashtags that emerged due to events across the world like #prayforparis #notmypresident and so forth. Naturally, this sphere can bring controversy and cons. People could overuse hashtags, so they lose their value. On the contrary, users could misuse them.

This misuse is called hashtag high-jacking and has become a major problem for businesses who incorporate them. One infamous example of this is Mcdonald’s campaign #McDStories. They were expecting their beloved customers to share the wonderful experiences they’ve had at their institution, but that wasn’t the case. Instead some of the reactions were mortifying to the corporation. Knowing my generation and the freedom that comes with twitter, this didn’t shock me.

They could have avoided the gravity of this situation in many ways. Felber PR and Marketing  gave several tips such as avoiding controversial topics in your hashtag unless you’re ready to fight back. They expressed the importance of playing devil’s advocate and thinking of every situation where your hashtag could be twisted. Whether it be naivety, ignorance, or just lack of thinking things through, Mcdonald’s did not engage in this. Instead they thought of all the wonderful stories and connections that could come from this campaign. As a result, they had a PR disaster, which led to them cancelling the hashtag. Secondly, they left the hashtag too open ended, so it was relatively easy for the internet “trolls” to twist the hashtag.


When you use hashtag’s efficiently, they can be beneficial for businesses or the sharing of ideas. However, it’s important to remember that social media creates a platform for sharing and involving all sorts of ideas and opinions, wanted or not. We are a driven people, but we are also a meme-loving people, so businesses must be on their toes; always prepared to combat against the internet trolls.

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