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.
