Six Social Media Sins

Quick little post I did for Businessweek online. What other sins would you have added?

Six Social Media Sins

Posted by: Today's Tip Contributor on July 9, 2010

Social media are not intended for you to syndicate your corporate message. Social media are here to facilitate open and honest dialogue with other individuals. If you are not open and honest, no one will want to engage with you, just as in nondigital life. When using social media to promote your business, avoid making the following mistakes:

1. Believing that if you build it, they will come. Just because you brand a Facebook page, YouTube channel, Twitter feed, or blog does not mean that you are using social media.

2. Not being authentic. You will soon be sniffed out if all you’re doing is using social media tools to promote your one-sided message and make sales.

3. Thinking you are in control. If you think you can control negative comments on your blog or other avenues, you will soon learn that you can’t.

4. Not listening. Social media is about open, two-way dialogue that entails both giving and sharing.

5. Thinking social media is not work. Social media is the most unscalable tactic there is in digital media. It takes a human being on the other end of the channel to engage and converse.

6. Not knowing your audience. Lacking an understanding of what your audience is passionate about or wants to engage in will result in a poor experience both for you and your audience.

Social media is about two-way communication and engagement, so enjoy the tools that are out there that help you further engage with your key audience

via www.businessweek.com