Ever find yourself frightened by something you see on the internet? We all do on occasion, especially at this time of year. Regrettable Facebook status updates, terrible typos, inadvertently offensive language or other content can affect people both personally and professionally. But scariest of all is really bad “expert advice.”
There are people out there who aren’t really social media experts, they just dress up as one, and not only on Halloween. Today, we hope you eschew the advice of the pretend social media gurus:
- Party Hopping–Having a presence on every platform would not only mean monitoring them every waking moment, it would make you look like you aren’t doing anything productive. Choose platforms based on the audience you want to reach and pay attention to them, providing quality and entertaining content. And then go be creative!
- Ghostposting–Although we are fans of some automation, you can’t leave all of your social media to a computer. Social media is really a conversation with the world. But for that to be true, you have to be responsive or you are just shouting into the darkness.
- Zombie Updating–Professionalism is great and staying on message is important, but social media shows the human side of a company, too. Don’t forget to put some personality into your social media marketing.
- Clowning Around–There are extremes on both ends, of course. Don’t forget that you are the voice of your company even for a minute! Always think carefully before you hit “Send.”
Social media can help you be the house that everybody knows has the best candy or the one with the porch light out and no decorations. Which would you rather be?
Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative