Management Tip of the Day: Recover from social media blunders

An attendee tweets on phone at the 140: Twitter Conference LA in Los Angeles September 22, 2009.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Social media is legendary for its transparency and speed, but that also means that your mistakes can be wildly visible. Being upfront is a good way to start recovering, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"One of the key benefits of social media is that your messages can reach more people faster. But this also means that your mistakes can too.

Whether you accidentally tweet an insensitive message or a customer posts a disparaging video about your product, don't panic. The key is to leverage the misstep to your advantage. The same medium that made your mistake wildly visible can help broadcast your apology.

Don't attempt to manipulate the truth. Be up-front about the mistake and apologize. When everyone can see what you're doing, you need to act with transparency, honesty, and credibility."

- Today's management tip was adapted from "The Simple Way to Avoid Social Media Failures" by Jeff Stibel.

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