Social Media–Connect, Don't Spam

Social Media–Connect, Don’t Spam

September 1^st 2011 Sally Ormond social media, social media marketing, twitter for business

social media

Everyone uses social media these days – or at least it seems like it.

As a copywriter I use it a lot. Whether it’s tweeting for help (usually IT related problems), offering advice, promoting my blog posts, or just general chit-chat, I love using it as a way of connecting with other people.

Did you see that? I said I used it for connecting with people.

The problem is, some social media users out there don’t connect, they spam. And that’s not something you want to do – especially if you want people to follow you or ‘like’ your Facebook page.

What’s spamming?

Well, if you constantly tweet about promotions, your products, news about your company and what you’re doing, without actually engaging with people, you’re spamming.

Granted, social media is a fabulous marketing tool through which you can:

Encourage newsletter sign-ups
Promote your blogs
Promote offers and give-aways

But, if that’s all you do and never respond to questions, share information, or join in with conversations, you’re not going to get a lot out of social media.

Why? Because it’s all about conversing and building relationships and that’s a two-way street, and that means you have to:

Listen to others and help if you can
Engage with your followers to see what they are looking for
Build relationships with people
Give advice and ask for help

Plus, if you listen to what people are talking about, you can use it as a valuable market research tool.

It’s not all about you

Another great way to build relationships is to promote other people.

If someone tweets that they’re looking for a great designer, and you just happen to know one, put them in touch with each other.

Marketing – Connecting – Reciprocity : The 3 pillars of social media.

If you remember that, you’ll start to get the most out of social media.

Go on, join in, it’s fun. For starters, why not follow me on Twitter –here I am, @sallyormond.

Tags: social media, social media marketing, twitter for business

Comments (1)

Danielle Lynn 8 years ago.

Hi Sally, I fully agree with this one. I see too many people only broadcasting or sharing links to their sites on Twitter without taking the time to build relationships with people. I know it can be time consuming, but it's definitely worth it. Danielle

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