Update: This was the original blog post that was later turned in to an article for PROMO Magazine, titled Social Media is Not a Content Channel.
With social media being THE buzz phrase of the hour (much like Web 2.0 a few years back), many companies and agencies are scrambling to incorporate social media strategies in order to avoid looking out of touch or behind-the-times. To many, as is often the case, it would be an unforgivable sin to admit that they may not fully understand an emerging approach or technology, and that they might need specialized help in order to effectively leverage those techniques. This of course leads to widespread confusion, proliferation of false or misleading information, and worst of all, poorly thought out executions. Today, I would say that roughly 80% of all social media programs are committing one or more of these top ten social media worst practices:
#10: Not establishing a voice.
Social media is about socializing, which requires two way interaction between individuals. The problem is, a company is not an individual; so how does one go about socializing with a corporation or brand? I know corporations are afforded the same constitutional protections that individuals are, but its still a little unnerving to receive a tweet from @Viacom or @FritoLay. Who exactly is speaking? Some companies (like Viacom) address the issue by simply not speaking to individuals directly, but instead speaking to the internet in general (That’s also a big no-no. See #3), while others (like FritoLay) respond directly as some vague corporate spirit – perhaps its Chester Cheetah.
When communicating with connections through social media, its always important to establish who’s speaking, and why people should listen. There’s a reason that the biggest success stories in social media are celebrities – they understand that its all about personality.
#9: Using social media to advertise.
I always say that Social Media has more in common with public relations than it does marketing or advertising. Similarly, posting an update about a product’s new and improved formula is equivalent to creating a press release announcing your CEO’s new baby. In short: Nobody cares. Remember, your content is only consumed voluntarily, so it has to be valuable and important enough to pay attention to. Otherwise, your social media outreach has become spam – also known as a waste of money.
#8: Thinking one-dimensionally.
It never ceases to amaze me how frequently people forget that the power of social media isn’t that its simply a new channel to reach people by, but that your content can be delivered by other people on your behalf, which is much more likely to have a profound impact. Again, similar to PR, you don’t target writers or journalists as if they were your customer – you help them see your brand’s messaging as news in the hope that they’ll share that news with their audience. Such is social media. Remember that communicating with your network is great, but the end goal should always be to convince THEM to communicate YOUR messaging to THEIR network.
#7: Not focusing efforts.
So, you’ve gotten several hundred people to add #FruityPebbles to their tweets because you’ve enticed them with a sweepstakes offer. So what? What now? Why are you spending time and effort on social media outreach? What’s the point? And no, “because we have to” isn’t a good answer. Social Media is only effective if its utilized with a specific goal or goals in mind. Are you trying to acquire new customers? Drive sales from existing customers? Improve brand reputation? Streamline customer service? Each reason has a different tactic in order to achieve success, and a different metric to gauge success by.
#6: Driving traffic to the wrong place.
After reading a well written and insightful article in the Wall Street Journal, you decide to share the link via social networking. Now you’ve shown your connections how “in-the-know” you are, and now they’ll beat a path to your door seeking your wealth of expertise, right?
Wrong. You haven’t actually done anything except send a potential/existing customer to someone else’s website. Always drive traffic to your OWN website. Don’t just share what someone else said – share what you have to say ABOUT what someone else said. Not only will this establish you as more than just a “link sharer” with no insights of your own, but by adding your own two cents you’ll often get attention from the original source of information you’re commenting on. Two birds with one stone. The one potential exception would be re-tweets, with the goal of “sucking up” to the original poster.
#5: Executives or employees designated to share random thoughts.
Social Media is a cacophony. Genuinely important updates (like the information pouring out of Iran) is muddled with frivolous, useless junk (”@TwilightFan1997: OMG You are so crazzzzzy!”). In short, don’t create more of the latter. I assure you that no one cares that your CFO is at the San Antonio airport with a flight delay. Better to only update once every few days with something remarkable than to constantly post yawn-inducing drivel.
#4: Forgetting about SEO.
Just a reminder: people are still most likely to discover your content or messaging through plain old fashioned google searches. That includes the content you’re posting to social media. So always remember to have a focused SEO effort with specifically targeted keywords and phrases, and treat your social media outreach as an extension of that effort. However, keep in mind that posting links to your own site via comments or posts will NOT improve your search rankings.
#3: Not engaging with others.
Sometimes referred to “one-way” messaging or “old-fashioned” marketing. To put it simply, you can’t just talk AT people while ignoring what they have to say. If you want them to listen to you, you must first listen to them. If you want twitter followers, then follow others. If you want people to comment on your posts, comment on theirs. If you want a blog writer to comment on your company or promotion, write a blog about them. If you want people to watch the videos you’ve posted to YouTube, subscribe to other users’ channels – or better yet, post a video response to one of their videos.
#2: Ignoring the power of User Generated Content (UGC).
Many of our clients come to us and say “We have XYZ content that we’ve produced. How can we get people to share it virally through social media?” But a better question to ask is: “How can we get our target audience to produce content FOR us, and allow them to share it via social media?” Not only does this reduce costs by not having to self-produce amazing content, it also guarantees that people will share the content that they had a hand in producing. Never forget that social media is ultimately a self-centered endeavor; shared content is primarily a reflection of the person posting it.
#1: Having nothing worthwhile to say.
This is the cardinal, unforgivable sin of social media. You cannot simply re-tweet other people’s comments, post company announcements, and answer the question “what are you doing?” You have to spend 1/3 of your time growing your network, 1/3 engaging with that network on a one-to-one basis, and 1/3 of the time sharing content with that network that they will find genuinely relevant, personal, and/or useful. Such content is a tall order, and that’s where an effective digital promotion comes in. Remember: Social Media is only a mechanism to share ideas – the ideas you share are still the engine that drives success.
What are your thoughts?
Did I forget anything? Do you disagree with any on my list? Please comment and share your own views on how you think social media can go terribly wrong.
