Target troll proves it’s all or nothing with corporate social media

Being on social media can be serious business for an enterprise.

Major retailer Target can attest to that after a man with no official connection to the company hijacked its social media presence and began talking -- rather sarcastically and often rudely -- to customers.

"This is a big brand and reputational issue," said Nick Hayes, an analyst with Forrester. "As a business, you have to make sure the accounts you own are kept safe. There are serious implications for an organization if they don't catch something like this."

Target didn't comment specifically on the issues raised by observers about how long it took to catch onto the problem. But Angie Thompson, a Target spokesperson, said by email, "At Target, we are committed to providing outstanding guest service to our guests wherever we engage with them -- in our stores, online, or on social media. Clearly this individual was not speaking on behalf of Target."

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