They may have recently sealed a 20th league title, but it seems as though Manchester United could do with brushing up on their social network skills, after the club used Twitter and Facebook to hail the appointment of David Moyes as manager hours before an official announcement had been made.
Trigger-happy United officials used the club’s Facebook page early in the afternoon of Thursday, May 9 to welcome the current Everton boss to the club as the successor to his longstanding and highly successful fellow Scotsman Alex Ferguson, who stood down from his role earlier in the week. Fans were invited to offer their own salutations via the hashtag #UnitedContinued on Twitter.
Moyes, however, was not officially announced as the club’s new gaffer until 4:00 pm that day.
The mistake was quickly rectified, but not before it had been picked up on by droves of Facebook and Twitter users, as well as The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Sun.
Perhaps the Red Devils’ social media team would be wise to take some Twitter tips from star players Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney, both of whom are known being social media savvy, although Rooney was reported on the same day to be umming and aahing about his future at Old Trafford, not for the first time in his United career.
Amid a hectic couple of days at the club, this particular escapade is unlikely to have caused more than a smidgeon of embarrassment, but it is a reminder of the importance of online news providers and those tasked with SEO, whether for Manchester United or Macclesfield Town, staying on the ball in order to stop Twitter becoming – as Ferguson once branded it – “a waste of time”.
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