How you can poison your guests with social media
If you ask any marketing professional they will say unequivocally that using social media is good for business. That just like introducing a new dish to your menu, it’s a positive move. It’s definitely good for business.
But is it always?
What if you accidently use contaminated fish in your new menu item? With regular customers all eager to test out your new dish, many of them are going to get ill, and most of them will tear your establishment apart with complaints and bad reviews and will never return, regardless of whether every other item on your menu is still Michelin star quality.
Using social media badly can have the same effect. One rotten post can leave your reputation in tatters. In the ‘old days’ the story of a bad experience was spread amongst friends and relatives, but its journey was finite and often short-lived. These days, the internet can become an infinite loop where a story spreads far and wide in record time, and keeps going around and around for weeks and even months.
It certainly won’t help your business to avoid using social media altogether, but common sense must prevail – so if you’re unsure, keep these no-go zones for social media, in mind;
Respect the boundaries of social media
Advertising your business on another businesses Facebook timeline is the same as inviting yourself to a stranger’s garden party. You’re not going to be welcomed with open arms, more likely thrown out (deleted) and banned from returning (blocked). Uninvited solicitations are gauche and rude. You will immediately be deemed unprofessional by those who see it, and like the neighbourhood gossip vine, word of this will spread online.
Don’t mix business with pleasure
It’s perfectly fine to share your business posts on your personal page. It is absolutely not okay to post personal items on your business page. Your political views, photos from your friend’s 40th and silly viral memes should never be shared on your business page, no matter how “easy-going and current” your company is. It’s unprofessional and highly likely to offend someone, who is equally as likely to be a valuable client. This also means, check and check again when you log into your personal account to rant about the company’s leave policy, that you’re not accidently logging into the company account, a mistake which could land you in a state of permanent leave and the company having to make red-faced apologies to its followers on your behalf. Remember that what you share is a reflection of your business.
Be selective about your audience
If you’re hosting a new restaurant opening, you would think the obvious thing to do would be to send an invitation to all of your followers. Don’t do it. Be selective. If your restaurant is in Durban, to the Capetonians on your list, a direct invitation to an event they can’t attend is not an invitation, its spam.
Don’t beg for followers
It doesn’t work, it makes you seem a little desperate and it’s annoying. Don’t just put any content out there and use it to beg for likes and follows. Unless you’re a rich kid of Instagram nobody cares about the numbers. With business it’s far more important to offer top quality content and leave the rest to work itself out. If your content is good enough, the number of followers will increase naturally.
Finally, an important word about blogging…
Don’t borrow or steal other blogs
It sounds obvious, but it is surprising how many business owners think this is okay practice. Having a business blog is a great way to draw people to your website, but it takes time to build up.
The obvious thing would seem to be to find relevant articles online and post those while you build up a collection of your own. However, doing so without permission from the author is stealing, even if you credit your source. You might think it’s unlikely that the author will see it, but it’s foolish to underestimate how fast information can spread online. In addition to facing a potential lawsuit, Google knows plagiarism when it sees it and you’ll be heavily penalised for it. Don’t be afraid to share an article on social media which links back to the original author’s website.
Social media is an incredibly useful marketing tool when used correctly. Be light-hearted and make it conversational and if you are ever in doubt about posting something, you probably shouldn’t post it. Alternatively get the opinion of at least two or three other people before doing so.
Image credit: Britt-knee Flickr