What Kanye West’s Epic Twitter Rant, Can Teach Us About Social Media

Where were you Wednesday when the Kanye tweets rolled out? Chances are, you were at work scrolling through your Facebook feed or maybe even checking your Twitter account on your iPhone when you saw #Kanye was trending. Just like me, you probably clicked over to see what was going on and were surprised by just what you saw.

These tweets should not have came as a surprise though, it was Kanye West after all. The man who stole the spotlight from Taylor Swift,and said President Bush didn’t care about black people, and “The Man,” who has apparently still has not learned a thing about PR.

The tweets in question can be mostly found here.  Keep in mind that some of them are NSFW and outright offensive. The story goes that fellow rapper Wiz Khalifi sent out a tweet that attacked Kanye West and Kanye’s Wife Kim Kardashian, which led to Kanye sending not one but many tweets attacking Khalifi. These tweets included attacking Kalifi’s clothes, the mother of Khalifi’s son, and even making fun of Khalifi’s phone number. Brands soon got into the conversation too though as they are known too.  Companies such as national sandwich chains like Jimmy Johns and Subway  used it as an opportunity to take humorous jabs at each other.

But what’s the lesson in all this? Well for people who work in marketing, PR, or for everyone for that matter who uses social media there’s much to learn.

The Takeaways

Here are the takeaways from Kanye West’s epic tweet rant, that all of us can learn.

• We’re All Watching on Social Media. With retweets and reshares, one simple update can spread like wildfire.
• You Can’t Delete Fast Enough. Someone will see your messages before you delete it. When people are watching at every second, a status update can be cut, copied, and/or embedded in about a million different forms. So think before you send.
• Human Emotion is Great. Remember, how we are always talking about being human on social media with brands? Good or bad, people like emotion on social media and will listen when people speak. This can lead to more followers and more engagements, whether it is good or bad.
• Content Can be Created Out of Just About Anything. Speak ,that’s all you have to do sometimes to create a marketing message that will stick with people. Whether it’s about the stuff at your cubical or the food you’re eating, content and stories can be made out of just about everything.
• People Will Remember. People will remember and the content will live on. News stories, gossip mags, etc., will live forever on the internet. The 24 news cycle is real, but how many of us are still waiting for another wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl?

Saying all that, did Kanye do anything wrong? That’s not for us to judge here, and for many people, they will simply say that Kanye was being Kanye. But for Marketers and those of us who use Social Media there are lessons to remember about this story.