4 Examples of Reactive Social Media Posts

Social media has a growing influence on the decisions we make as consumers, so it matters more than ever for brands to connect and engage with their audiences there. Reactive social media is when a brand or business quickly responds to viral content, news or trending topics in real time.

Engaging with topics in real time can be risky, mostly due to the small amount of time a brand or business has to curate a relevant response and or media to complement that response before it becomes irrelevant. There is also a risk of the brands potentially coming across with the wrong tone of voice, or having a backlash from your audience, which is why it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to reactive social media content. It is always a good idea to ask yourself the question: “How could this potentially go wrong?”

Take the example of Cinnabon, which once tweeted “RIP Carrie Fisher, you’ll always have the best buns in the galaxy,” referring to her famous hair rolls in Star Wars, after the actor's death in December 2016. The tweet was quickly deleted following a backlash, and although the brand apologised, the damage to its reputation had already been done.

When Beyoncé launched her Ivy Park collection with Adidas in January 2020, using an orange and maroon colour scheme very similar to the Sainsbury’s uniform, it presented a perfect opportunity for the marketing team at Sainsbury’s, and they obliged perfectly with an image of their uniform and a simplistic overlay which read ‘the original’.

Some Beyoncé fans outside the UK rushed to defend her without quite getting the joke or the British sense of humour. British users then defended Sainsbury’s, and before long the post was being widely shared and talked about, giving both brands plenty of exposure.

When the stadium in New Orleans suffered a power cut during the 2013 Super Bowl, the team behind Oreo's social media saw a golden opportunity and tweeted the following:

Created with Oreo's agency, the tweet was shared thousands of times within minutes, and it was widely reported as one of the most talked-about ads of the night, despite not being a TV commercial at all. It is still held up as a classic example of reactive marketing.

Twitter (now X) went into a frenzy in February 2021 when Weetabix posted a tweet suggesting Heinz Beanz on bix for breakfast, which prompted a wave of hilarious replies from other major brands and even the NHS.

The Weetabix team posted “Why should bread have all the fun, when there’s Weetabix? Serving up @HeinzUK Beanz on bix for breakfast with a twist. #ItHasToBeHeinz #HaveYouHadYourWeetabix”.

If Weetabix were looking for a reaction to their tweet, they certainly got one, with comments of disgust and concern from some major global brands. Here are some of our favourite replies from some brands you are probably already familiar with.

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced in January 2020 that they would step back as members of the Royal Family, the world was watching, and so was a very bold social media team at Burger King, which posted this tweet.

With no images and only a light-touch mention, they left the rest to their audience's imagination. Because the news was everywhere, everyone knew exactly what they meant, and the tweet received thousands of likes within hours.

• Be bold when it comes to reactive social media posts and test the waters
• React to posts which are already going viral, and avoid trying to generate your own storm
• React in the same way that your target audience would react
• Do not capitalise on serious matters or tragedy
• Agree a quick sign-off process in advance, so you can react while the moment is still relevant
• Ask a range of people what they think before you publish anything

Reactive content works best when you already have a clear brand voice, a quick approval process and someone keeping an eye on trends. If you would like help planning reactive content for your brand, our social media management team can help.

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