Social. Media. Marketing. Ugh!
Is there a more saturated corner of the interwebz than advice on social media marketing? Other than cat meme’s and videos-which-we-will-not-mention, I think the point could be argued. Okay, maybe not. Nonetheless, it remains an overused topic with conflicting advice. That’s why we won’t be using this article to tell you what to do. Instead, we’ll be telling you what to stop doing. Consider it free market research on why you’re so annoying. Here are four things that will kill any social media campaign and should be avoided:
“Corporate Voice”: There’s probably a buzz word out there for what I’m referring to, but “corporate voice” is the overly proper business tone that so many social campaigns adopt. When every update reads like the headline to an internal memo or obituary, it makes me happy I don’t work for you. People relate to people. Be conversational. Be familiar. Treat your audience more like a happy hour mixer than a 9am board meeting. I’m not saying go nuts (although I wish you would) — just stop making us read your updates like we’re Ferris Bueller’s Economics teacher. Relax.
Flooding the Feed: Due to the nature of our client base, the Bridged Design twitter account follows a slew of Government organizations. These guys are the worst offenders of “feed flooding”. Don’t be like them. Their updates usually read like a cryptic alien language, with the same update spammed five to six consecutive times, often with no variation from the previous one. FLOOD! These organizations carry enough clout and relevance to get away with it, but yours doesn’t. Unless you have something insightful or useful to say in your tweets, we recommend no more than one update every two hours, and it better be different than its predecessor. Spamming is SO 2003. If your brand isn’t creating value in people’s lives, then why should anyone care?
Claiming the Un-Claimable: “We’re the best”, “we’re the fastest”, “we’re the easiest”… nonsense. These are all subjective claims, and rather boring ones at that. Unless your business is competitively breaking land-speed records…with ease… then stop it. People don’t like the feeling of being sold, and can sniff out the over-cologned smell of a salesman a mile away. Not only can your brand not legitimately lay claim to these broad proclamations, it’s a boring, self-serving and sloppy way to be “social”. What are you proving with these vague, not-so-humble brags? Brent Kelsey of Kelsey Advertising offers the advice to define your points of distinction and then prove each one. This is sound advice, but take it a step further and be as non-braggadocios as possible. Focus on your customers and give specific advice or advantages to them. Leave it up to them to decide if you’re the best, fastest, easiest, prettiest, etc.
Multi-Sharing Messes : These can actually be effective if used correctly. With so many massive social networks to potentially tap into, most brands spread their presence across more than one. This is smart, in theory. The purpose of these apps, however, is to blast one update from your twitter account and post it to your Facebook wall (or other social account). It becomes annoying when the same redundant updates are spread across all networks. When I see you “RT@” some #hashtag on Facebook, I want to stop following you—or maybe find you and beat you. Know your audience. The culture on each platform is considerably different, and each needs to be treated as unique as their users are.
There are certainly more than four things you’re doing that bother us, but let’s take it slow. If you need help avoiding these mistakes, Bridged Design offers Social Media Marketing that will get the results you desire.
Further reading: http://www.kelseyads.com/site.php/pulse/detail/a_rock_solid_brand_development_strategy_is_simple._really
Source: Bridged Design