Social media can be like a gun, with tweets and Facebook posts servings as bullets. One little slip of the finger can result in irreversible damage.

Reckless posting can incite a nasty backlash, particularly if it is on behalf of a large company. Sure you can delete the offending post, but if you have millions of followers or fans, chances are someone has already immortalized your faux pas with a timely screenshot.

Enter the case of British business magnate Lord Alan Sugar. People in the U.S. may not be familiar with Lord Sugar, who hosts the U.K. version of “The Apprentice,” but he is a big celebrity across the pond, as evidenced by his more than 2.5 million Twitter followers and 51,000-plus Facebook fans. On Nov. 22, 2012, Lord Sugar sent out the tweet below, which sparked a bevy of negative reactions across the social media sphere.

Needless to say, many people were none too pleased with this marketing to women ploy. Perhaps Lord Sugar’s intentions weren’t to be sexist and invoke the anger of his female following. Maybe it was a PR stunt designed to generate publicity. Regardless, this is a classic think-before-you-speak scenario.

The likely fallout from this is that Lord Sugar’s businesses will see fewer women customers as retaliation for his insensitive comments. Let this be a lesson to all the social media managers out there—don’t pull the trigger unless you are truly ready to shoot.

FletcherPR is a national communications firm that specializes in reaching women through the power of media. Headquartered in Knoxville, TN with staff in Nashville & Los Angeles, we are a full-service agency providing strategic public relations, social media and marketing communications services to our clients throughout the U.S.