It seems that almost everyone is now using social media marketing in their business these days, which is a good thing, but unfortunately there who have jumped on the bandwagon with little or no regard to social media etiquette. I’m afraid this blog post is a bit of a rant in this regard…
Spammers are now as common on social media as they are on email (Larry Brauner aptly calls it Anti Social Media Marketing), but this post is directed at those who have good intentions but are in danger of becoming unsuspecting spammers anyway. Make sure you’re not making this mistake in your social media marketing efforts.
Here are some ways in which you may be unintentionally spamming:
- Automated responses
These have their place (for instance if I shop online I expect an automated reply saying that my order has been received and worry if I don’t get it), but you need to think about how and when you use it. If it’s not a message you would be excited to get in your inbox or by DM on Twitter, then don’t send it to others. Twitter’s DM function has become almost redundant as it’s so full of “thank you for following me” messages that any real messages get lost in the noise.
- Pointless comments and/or links
Whether it’s on a blog, Facebook, Twitter or any other social media portal, we all hate the spammers who make a meaningless comment and then add a link to their own page. However there are those who mean well but end up doing a similar thing. Unless you’re involved in a conversation, comments like “Thanks”, “Great post” or “Cool” don’t add anything of value to a blog post, YouTube video or whatever. If you have something to say, then by all means say it, but think before you add any more unnecessary noise, and never link back to your own page from someone else’s unless it truly adds something meaningful to the conversation.
These are just a few examples, but the best way to avoid any hint of spamming is to always ask yourself, “Is this information useful to people other than myself?” before posting anything. The internet is full of clutter and providing valuable content and an informed opinion will make you stand out in the right way in all your social media marketing efforts. Join the conversation, not the spammers.
- #FF’s on Twitter
Follow Friday started out with good intentions, but is now starting to annoy rather than help Twitter users. It was originally created to help new Twitter users to find interesting and influential people to follow, which was great. However these days the lists seem to have nothing to do with recommending good tweeters – some are to thank those who have followed them, others are to get new followers themselves, some seem to have no purpose whatsoever. Take a look at Chris Voss’s video on Why Follow Friday Doesn’t Work and Should Stop to see his take on it. If you do still use Follow Friday then make sure you are choosing those you list for the right reasons: because of the quality of their tweets.