On occasion, it does no harm to be reminded of things which may be commonly known in theory but are unfortunately often forgotten in practice. This applies to online firms who are attempting to promote their brand by using Facebook and Twitter. It is commonplace to suggest that the majority of social media users can be alienated if the marketing techniques being used are not sufficiently subtle. Despite this ‘take home message’ being highlighted by article after article on the net, evidence suggests that too many firms simply do not get it. They are thus missing out on the chance to maximise the benefits of their efforts and their target audience is being won over by cannier firms, probably those employing SMM and full site search engine optimization campaigns.
Social media marketing can only work well if it is informed by knowledge which is produced by SMM and SEO professionals. Without this kind of specialised knowledge, the techniques used will be out-of-date and ineffective. Even worse, it is probable that elementary errors will be made. The sorts of errors which can alienate others include:
• Using direct messages on Facebook to plug products in an unsophisticated manner can prove tiresome. It can be so aggravating that people stop reading their direct messages altogether.
• On Facebook, the practice of putting a promotional plug on someone else’s wall can be self-defeating and can slightly damage the online reputation of the individual or firm who did it.
• Using Twitter to send @reply messages which push a product to an unknown individual is a practice which very seldom has the intended impact. Indeed, it can be a good way of damaging the perception an individual has of a firm before they have had any significant dealings with them.
• Using Twitter without contributing to the social side of things can make a firm appear unfriendly. A gradualist approach to Twitter should include entering into industry relevant debates in an amicable manner, not simply tweeting remorselessly about the value of a specific product.
• Using LinkedIn to send unsolicited sales pitches to strangers will impress nobody.
The basic principle of being successful on the social media is to ‘do as you would be done by.’ Most of use these social media personally, for entertainment and for information, so we instinctively perceive what is not a good strategy. However, when we are at work we can be driven by our ‘work mindset’ into performing counterproductive acts. This is where using experts like seoconsult.co.uk can really deliver the goods. For example, they can distinguish between positive and negative actions with ease.
It is important to strike a balance between the ‘social’ and the ‘economic.’ An expert has estimated that about 15 per cent of status updates or tweets can be promotional. This is the level which they personally judge to be acceptable. Social media optimisation is a complex field and the appropriate percentage will vary across economic sectors and possibly between countries. It is important to keep an eye on emerging research in this area, if the right tactics are to be deployed more often than not.