SCORE Small Business Blog

Top Killers of Social Media for Business

In honor of Day of the Dead, I thought I would highlight some of the top “killers” or mistakes that businesses make when using Social Media as a marketing tactic:

• Acting like a Zombie. Social Media is an exchange for building one-to-one relationships.  Social Media Zombies simply “groan into space” by only posting self-promotions or disjointed comments. No wonder others run away screaming.
• Being Friends with Zombies. Automatic accepting of “friend” and “follow me” requests can get zombies (see above) in your network creating noise and distraction.
• Only Coming Out on a Full Moon. Jumping in and out of Social Media does nothing to build relationships or learn about clients, competitors and the market.
• Disembodied Parts. Often Social Media doesn’t “go” anywhere. It is not connected to the company brand visually or to the company website or blog physically (via links).
• Floating like a Ghost. Many businesses simply follow the crowd, nervously setting up Social Media accounts and randomly participating in exchanges. Or they hire a young intern to be in charge of Social Media and then worry months later if they are wasting time and money. Without a plan or tracked measures they are floating aimlessly.
• Stalking Victims. Practices like auto-following, auto-posting and social media spamming are quick killers of reputation.

Your Next Best Three Steps:

1. Give rather than Get. Listen and comment on others posts, tweets or blog writings. As a rule of thumb spend 80% of your time supporting and listening and 20% promoting your own ideas and products.
2. Be Selective with Your Friends/Followers. List the most important groups for your business (current clients, past clients, key referral sources, key industry influencers and media, desired prospects). This provides a clear guideline for building a quality, effective following.
3. Define your objectives, goals or plans. Social Media is no different than any other marketing tactic. Successful marketers invest consistent, regular time against a clear plan with tracking metrics.

And for a little fun view Mashable’s Social Media Halloween Costume Winners. Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

Jeanne Rossomme – President, RoadMap Marketing Jeanne uses her 20 years of marketing know-how to help small business owners reach their goals. Before becoming an entrepreneur, she held a variety of marketing positions with DuPont and General Electric. Jeanne regularly hosts online webinars and workshops in both English and Spanish. www.roadmapmarketing.com | @roadmapmarketin | More from Jeanne