I was browsing the discussions in the E.Factor group on LinkedIn and I came across a post about social media. Because this is a field that I am actively involved in, I am interested in what others have to say about it’s usage.
After reading the first post I was surprised at the post so I posted a response. Then I did a bit of digging (which admittedly I should have done before I posted my response), and I realized that the discussion I responded to was a good example of how NOT to use social media. Actually it wasn’t really a discussion it was just a post, and well let’s be hones and call it by it’s true name: SPAM. I realized that the guy that started the discussion had a bogus position at a bogus company (position: Professional SEO Company, Website SEO at Professional SEO Company, Website SEO) and not only that, he has made a number of one sided posts including a link to what I’m assuming the website for where he really works. This is just a poor way to create links to a website. Can you guess what this guy is selling? Social media services!
The question is do we want this kind of activity in the group, and if not what should we do about it? Well, let me start by sharing my opinion of how social media should be used.
Social media is about building relationships. Yes, in the end you are there to promote your business and put your brand on display, but don’t let your ego run away with itself. It’s not about you or your popularity. Social media is not about one sided sales pitches or marketing messages. If people think that all you care about is yourself and pushing your product, they won’t stick around. Social media is about relationships and conversations. You need to spend time listening to what others are saying. Ask questions, get feedback and try to discover how consumers really see your company.
Another thing you need to do is make sure you are open about who you are and why you are there. There have been numerous cases where companies and/or executives have engaged in social media under false pretenses and were eventually discovered. You want to see how viral social media is? Get caught lying about what your doing and people will talk.
So, I guess there are a couple of approaches: The administrators can remove members who spam and or the users of the group can out the users that are spamming. I also believe that most people will see through the feeble attempts to self promote through social media spam, but spam is still annoying.
What approach do you think we should take?
LinkedIn Discussion: Engaging With Social Media vs. Social Media Spam and What Do We Do About It
