By Darren Gilbert

This fact means that it’s even more important that you learn from the mistakes of others. After all, you don’t want to be embarrassed. No one does.

Exhibit A: Belkin tries to control everything

In 2009, Belkin, an American manufacturer of consumer electronics, hit on what they thought would be a good idea. They wanted people to write reviews for their products. There is no harm in that. Or so they thought. However, they wanted the reviews written as if the person who was writing them, owned one. And it didn’t matter if they didn’t have one or not.

However, that wasn’t all. It later came out that the reviewers were expected to give the product the highest rating possible while also searching for any negative ones and mark them as ‘unhelpful’. Not only is this unethical but it’s also misleading.

How to avoid: Be honest

“Be honest in your online communications and activities. As Belkin learned, dishonesty will be discovered and does more harm than good,” writes Susan Gunelius, CEO of Keysplash Creative Inc.

Exhibit B: British Airways fails the customer service test

In 2013, a disgruntled British Airways passenger lamented the service of the airline who lost his baggage. This was done via Twitter. Unfortunately for British Airways, they forgot to reply to him and so he tweeted again. However, this time, he paid for a sponsored Tweet.

The result was inevitable: 50 000 people in BA’s key markets viewed it and within a week, the press was all over it. In fact, if you search for it on Google, you will come up with some 11 million results.

How to avoid: Communicate quickly and effectively

The easy way to avoid this was to communicate quickly and effectively. Valentine Smith, account director at Tomorrow People PR explains: “If you're not listening on a key channel, odds on there's a customer there getting angrier and angrier. Public Relations today isn't about controlling the newsflow or even about crisis management PR; it's about engaging with your audience.”

Exhibit C: Nissan allows its CEO on to Reddit

In an effort to boost their brand, Nissan decided it was a good idea to allow their CEO Carlos Ghosn onto Reddit for an Ask Me Anything session. On the surface it doesn’t seem like anything could go wrong. But, of course, that is the theory. The reality is always different.

What resulted as an overflow of questions, many of which went unanswered. At the same time, Redditors accused the company of seeding questions.

How to avoid: Have a plan before you jump into something

Before you begin anything, you first need to know why you are doing it.

“Identify your objectives for using the platform: Is it to promote a new product, service, methodology or a personality from the company itself?,” writes Elizabeth Low, a contributor to Marketing magazine.

Much like the cliché of failing to plan equals planning to fail, any PR activity needs a map.

What are your thoughts? Do you know of any other lessons that can be learn from past PR disasters? Tell us below.