So you're getting more active with your Facebook and Twitter Accounts. Well done, Racer X. But before you go off and start tweeting and Facebooking like a madperson, here's a few things you may want to avoid. A few of them we're afraid, we learned first hand.
- Don’t just talk about yourself: Social media is a cocktail party, not a one-way conversation.
- Don’t set up automated messaging: The power of social media lies in its humanness, and users can detect a bot from a mile away. Automated messaging can quickly turn your content from personal and engaging to robotic and overly promotional.
Here's a quick and painful example: Here at Flash Point we built and tested out an "app" we called “TweetStream” where our social media accounts would automatically re-tweet selected Twitter accounts. The result was that our Twitter accounts became more like “shouting accounts” which blindly re-tweeted messages, and in one case even angered a consumer. Sorry again @jarrettmoffatt - Don’t sidestep/ignore negative feedback: People will talk negatively about your brand whether you are on social media or not; so use social media to listen and address consumer concerns. People who complain usually just want you to own up to it and/or promise to address the problem. Use social media as a vessel to show consumers that you really are listening and that you take their concerns seriously.
Example thank heavens we had nothing to do with: The infamous Taco Bell rats video. A video of rats running around a Taco Bell in NYC was posted to YouTube. Soon after, duplicates and versions started multiplying, and to date these videos have been viewed around 1.2 million times. As a result, Yum Brands' stock sank, customers started doubting Taco Bell's cleanliness, and other franchisees were harmed from the bad PR.
A CEO apology was issued but consumers could only find this by digging around the corporate website. Meanwhile the bad news was broadcast from hundreds of media outlets and thousands of blogs. If Taco Bell had been more active in social media, their response to the crisis would have been more visible and thus they could have been in a better position to combat this negative press. - Don’t leave air in the conversation: When you’re having an online conversation, don’t wait a day or two between messages. Users will want a reply within a few hours. If you wait longer, it’s possible for them to have forgotten what you were talking about (especially on Twitter).
- Don’t engage in social climbing: Don’t only connect with people who have a lot of “followers” and “fans.” It’s kind of like high school—if you only hang out with the popular people, you’ll definitely miss out on some interesting characters (and potential costumers)!
- Don’t message too much: if you’re constantly messaging 24/7, consider that you may be shouting at your fans/followers rather than having a conversation with them. No one likes to have their entire Twitter home screen full of messages from one person.
- Don’t use poor grammar or spelling: the way you talk reflects your company and brand.
- Don’t get too personal: Think of your role as a brand ambassador--keep your conversations warm but professional.
- Don’t forget to keep your profile and content updated: Freshness is the essence of social media. This applies to the “bio” of your page, as well as the content.
- Don’t be afraid to post the same content more than once: Some people think it’s an unwritten social media rule not to post the same thing more than once. But, if you’ve just launched a cool video or have a great deal going on at your dealership, why not post it more than once to make sure all your followers know about it? You can always re-word it and present it a different way, like: “If you missed it last week, here’s latest newest Webisode for your viewing pleasure…”
Sources:
http://mashable.com/2010/04/27/twitter-brand-dos-and-donts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29
http://mashable.com/2009/02/27/social-media-for-business-2/
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/do%E2%80%99s-don%E2%80%99ts-of-social-media-marketing/18292/
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/37982
