The Internet is a giant breeding ground for hilarious and insightful material. A recent shining example is a new Twitter account dedicated entirely to big corporations using completely inappropriate teen slang such as “bruh,” “yas,” and most importantly, “BAE” on the platform.

For those completely behind on the times, bae is an acronym meaning “before anyone/anything else,” and is sincerely used, on occasion, as a term of endearment for one’s significant other. But most often, it is ironically used to describe objects one feels especially passionate about. Bae is largely the subject of memes.

Some in-context examples include:

The classic:

The much more entertaining dog version:

Or this:

Yeah, we know, teens and tweens are unconscionably annoying.

Even so, big brands on Twitter have begun to latch on to teen slang in some misguided attempt to appeal to millennials. Sometimes it’s hilarious. Twitter accounts for companies like Denny’s and Taco Bell have garnered attention recently for being especially witty on Twitter (though the latter is guilty of slang abuse as well). But there is a line, especially for large corporations that are traded publicly and whose board is full of men wearing suits older than your dad.

And using bae is on the wrong side of it. Here are five of the worst examples from @BrandsSayingBae.

Aside from the uncreative self-promotion we’ve got going here, any teen could correct Mountain Dew on their use of unnecessary article “the” before bae. If you’re going to appropriate teen slang, at least make note of its proper use first.

Going off of that, though we’ve found Taco Bell’s Twitter account rather amusing at times, they too seem to have an elementary misunderstanding of what bae means, and are trying to convince each of their active followers that they are, in fact, bae.

Sort of a weird technique, if you ask us. Even further, McDonald’s use of bae reads as just straight up creepy. Millennials are an extremely important market segment, and personifying your giant brand for the purpose of romancing teens on Twitter might alienate them just a bit.

Next, a potential downside of using bae on a regular basis in social media is that it opens you up to trolls, who will hijack your “relatable” tweets and make you the butt of a joke. Once you begin engaging with trolls, things can really head downhill.

Perhaps the worst example from @BrandsSayingBae is this, from AT&T, of what appears to be a response to a customer service complaint.

Here, AT&T is exhibiting a triple threat of poor taste, insensitivity, and a misunderstanding of their positioning in the minds of their customers (who would ever consider their mobile provider to be bae?).

All of these big brands have a desire to connect with younger audiences, but are going about it in the wrong way. Balancing relatability and professionalism, as well as humor and consistency, is a huge challenge for brands big and small. The most important lesson we can take from these examples is that to succeed on social media, you must know and understand your brand’s voice.

If you’re ready to give your business a social media boost, email Lauren for a free consultation.

Metter Media LLC is a Boston-based social media management company that implements community-based, localized social engagement strategies for small businesses and corporations alike. Need help with your social media? Email Lauren today.