I think people often times forget to put the social in Social Media (social media’s most powerful element). In fact, I asked you to finish the following sentence…
You suck at social media if _________________________.
…and here’s what you came up with:
Basically, You Suck At Social Media If You…
- …talk “at” your followers instead of with them (thanks to @mollierosev).
- …use Auto-DM as an auto-responder instead of actually taking the time to say “hello”.
- …Tweet your own content (incessantly) without ever promoting others.
- …auto-update all of your content across multiple platforms (we call this “lazy marketing” and it doesn’t work no matter how hard you try).
- …publish nothing but self-promotional blog posts (it’s all “me, me, me” instead of something that’s actually helpful/useful to your readers).
- …never reply to others.
- … __________________________ (YOU fill in the blank).
Participation Does Not Equal Engagement:
You can participate in social media without being engaged. Lots of companies (and marketers) do this. They have their marketing hat on (but people are smart, we know and recognize that all you’re doing is broadcasting your message). What’s funny is lots of companies are seeking participants (subscribers, followers, friends, etc.). “Come be a part of our campaign… ‘Like’ us on Facebook so we can count and add to your numbers.”
Guess what? The value isn’t in the numbers…it’s in the engagement.
Earning people’s attention (and keeping it) is invaluable. You do that by connecting, by conversing, by sharing valuable information and caring… Little by little. Each and every day. Stop leading with your product. Be helpful and engage me.
So timely. I'm just about getting ready to write about this topic because of something I just encountered today. If you have a twitter profile and you don't use it, please remove it. There's nothing worse than finding a twitter page for a company, trying to engage – only to realize it was set up and no one ever did anything with it. Ugh!
Yep, I see lots of folks do that. Or I see people make use of Twitterfeed to push their content which isn't entirely bad IF (and only if) you mix things up and interact with your community. It's poor execution and poor use however when all you do is push, push, push all of your own content and never respond to anyone.
Thanks for the comment Suki!
I'm guilty of using those feeds as well but I interact on Twitter so I'm ok. 🙂 Glad you put this out there. 🙂
Heh, you're good precisely for that reason…you interact! I see many a real estate agent overuse the Twitterfeed however. What's worse is I've even seen them retweet themselves (sigh)!
LOL! RT themselves? Haha, that's pretty lame. I just wrote up my rant about this topic. I hope the individuals I mentioned read it and take action. 🙂
Yep, less than 30 followers and they sit there and RT themselves… #facepalm
Too true, Ricardo. People like us keep beating the same drum: engagement. Yet, there are still so many folks who don't understand or just simply refuse to put down their virtual megaphones. The power of these tools is immense, if you only put on your listening ears and participate fully. More people are getting it, and as those folks start beating the same drum that you and I are, well, social media will only become more powerful.
More peopl
I see it happen in the Real Estate Industry allll the time! They immediately think of it as just another marketing/broadcasting channel.
You can't be the 'Jack of All Trades' and talk 'at' people. You have to differentiate yourself and connect with people in a such a way where you're identifying and solving their problems first. Don't lead with the product, leave with a solution that solves consumer problems.
Heh. 😉
You suck at social media if you think by not committing any of these social media mistakes (which are all excellent, BTW) you will draw a bigger following and thereby be able to bask in the light of your own awesomeness. I mean, you might. But if that's the only reason you're doing it, you sort of miss the point. And you're probably kind of a tool.
For some people, it's all about the numbers (I know quite a few who fall into that category). The way I see it, if I'm helping someone, mission accomplished.
Thanks for the comment Kat!