Social Media: Are You A Sinner or Saint?
The use of Social Media for businesses covers a range from truly “Best Practices’ to outright “Abuse”. While a business shouldn’t stick to the most pristine strategy out of fear of a faux paux, they should also act with some vision of the repercussions of their actions in the social universe.
Social Media Angel
The social media good guys deliver the absolute highest quality content, with over-the-top value for their followers. These social media saints never sell in that channel, and they always interact on an individual level with their followers. In other words, no sales messages ever, replies and thanks you’s and real time spent finding content gems to share.
Social Media Purgatory (Limbo)
This is the vast middle ground of Social Media for business uses. There might be some automation in this strategy, but a Human is still involved in the creation and selection of content. One questionable practice in this territory is requiring people to like or follow your business in order to get some discount or special promotion. In the purest sense, this violates the social contract of this world by subverting the meaning of the word “like”. It becomes bribery, where you purchases “likes”. There are many practices that fit this middle ground and most businesses will fall in this territory. In fact, if it possible that this is the best place to be since your are maximizing time spent and pushing for ROI.
Dante’s Inferno of Social Media
Basically if it feels bad, it probably is. In other words, when you bring together a group of like-minded followers, thirsting for valuable information, and then you constantly spam and sell to them, this is evil. I always equate this to inviting a bunch of friends to your house for a party and then sitting them all down for a seminar to sell them stuff. Purchasing followers or Facebook likes is a move out of the book of dark arts as well. Again, if it feels wrong, it probably is.