I give a lot of seminars and speaking engagements around the country. Every time I speak, someone inevitably asks the question, “Can’t I just use an intern or lower level person to tweet for me?”
You can do what you want, but if you want your social media efforts to be effective and part of your on-going marketing efforts, then you need to have someone who is sensitive to your brand in charge of these efforts. This person needs to fully comprehend your product or service and know the right language, tone, etc., to place your brand the best possible light.
This person should be aware of what will work and what won’t work.
Here are some tips:
Don’t tag someone if they are not in the photo:
The other day, a Facebook friend posted an ad on her wall. She tagged everyone she knew in the photo. I received a message in my email that someone tagged me in a photo. I clicked on the photo to find an advertisement. I was angry and quickly untagged myself. In a message to all who were tagged, another one of her “friends,” said:
“The product looks very nice, but it is a bit rude to tag people when they are not actually in the photo in question (and that model sure as hell isn’t me! 😉
Especially for marketing purposes. Please don’t do this.”
Make sure to always think about your message and brand:
When engaging in a social media effort, make sure you use the right branding message. Your entire staff should be on board about messaging. If they are not, you can be in a situation like Chrysler. One of their social media firm’s employees tweeted: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f-king drive.” That person was immediately terminated and the firm was let go.
Don’t be “all that!”
If you are trying to build your community, don’t be sales-y. More times than not, I see even competitors of mine saying, “Did you see that placement that I got on NBC?” or I see, “Our track record beats most.” Instead, consider saying, “Did you see xyz company on NBC this morning?”
Don’t try to be funny:
Some people won’t get your humor. Others may take offense to it. Take a look at what Kenneth Cole did. During the riots in Egypt, he wrote:
“Millions in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available.“
Instead of finding it funny, his community was outraged! How could the brand be so insensitive?
Share links but don’t only share links of material that you wrote:
Many people share links. Some of the links are worth opening and others are not. But there are some, who only share links on materials that they wrote. This becomes stale after a while. If you want to set yourself up as a “tribe leader, from Seth Godin’s Tribes, then you need to share links to sites that have to do with your product or service, no matter if it’s a competitor’s site.
Don’t post updates every five minutes:
People who follow you get annoyed and may block you. Be conscious of what you are posting and remember hundreds, if not thousands of people are looking at your posts. Be sensitive and think about others. Isn’t that what social media is all about anyway?
There are so many “do’s and don’ts” floating out there that sometimes it’s easier to tune out the clutter. But by doing so, you may also be tuning out your community or followers. Figure out what works best for you and stick with it. Social media opens up a world of opportunities for you and your business if done correctly.
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This article first appeared in New York Enterprise Report’s blog.
