Social Media Citation
I was shopping in one of those cute little boutiques in the small town of Keller, Texas a few weeks ago when I ran across this:
I have to give it to knockknockstuff.com for coming up with this fantastically fun and very true assessment of Social Media faux pas. I think it is great in a world of increasingly online interactions to have some ground rules. This citation is aimed at the average user of SM, but I think the learnings can be applied to brands as well.
It isn’t all about you.
How boring is it when you find yourself at a social event and you get stuck talking to the egomaniac that spends hours talking about himself. The egomaniac doesn’t need an audience, he needs a mirror! Individuals and Brands that do the same thing will bore their audiences too! Balance your content to be a mix of posts about you, fun posts (that are not about you) and posts about your industry (not directly about you).
Know when to stay neutral.
The citation also points out the obvious subjects to avoid, but are there other things? What discussions do you join and which don’t you? What does that say about the brand? Is that what you want it to say? It is very important to determine the tone and personality of your brand before you begin posting and to look at each new post through that lens.
Know when is too much.
Whether it is with the number of posts or the language you use, Brands should avoid outstaying their welcome. One of the biggest comments I hear from Facebook Fans about the Brands they follow is either they don’t post at all or they post too much. Experimenting can be a good way to find out what that the right number of posts is for your brand. Facebook has new measures that show you interaction rates and even the number of fans you are losing with too many posts. Don’t guess.
Be interesting.
Show us more of your brand than we get going to your website. Help us have fun. Give us something to like you for. Invite us to give you our thoughts. Even better, do it all!
Don’t make me give you a citation!
