As the year comes to a close, let’s take a look back on how a bridal superstore experienced their very own flight risk.

Nearly a decade ago, David’s Bridal’s Facebook feed was hijacked by a disgruntled consumer who chose to post about her experience on social media. As Forbes details, Mikki Lawless from Sioux Falls, South Dakota posed about her experience during her last visit to the store

“When helping me into one of the dresses the saleswoman noticed I was tattooed. After that, she said she was needed at the front desk and someone else would be helping me. To my surprise, I had got no assistance at all!”

Ultimately, this led to a need for the company in “publicly acknowledging the issue and apologizing (even if just to save face), regardless of how accurate a complaint may be.”

While “stakeholders outside of the media hold a passive role,” it’s important for David’s Bridal to consider that “organizations can bypass traditional media and create narratives through online media releases.” Their social strategy, in this case, should’ve focused more on a resolution over an apology. Clay’s suggestions primarily involved managing the issue proactively, “by prohibiting posts by their customers on its Facebook Page in the first place (a common practice for large businesses to prevent just this type of PR problem.”

The biggest lesson we can take away is the importance of utilizing certain aspects of social channels to properly engage your audience. David’s Bridal utilized “pinned posts” so that their response was automatically listed on the top of their page feed as not to get pushed down by complaints.

Furthermore, the power of social media was showcased as the complaints triggered a discourse encouraging other brides-to-be to shop for dresses elsewhere and encouraged a boycott of this previously popular place to shop for wedding dresses.

Since becoming a society fully integrated with social media within the last decade, companies like David’s Bridal must promote a tangible and empathetic social presence in order to maintain their corporate identity. When handling a crisis or hijacking of social media, markets must focus on “a shift from monologue to dialogue” ultimately acting as a catalyst for “participation and transparency.”

How would you have handled a social hijacking? Was Mikki right to give her testimony on Facebook? Who are the bridezillas in your life? Let’s discuss :)