5 Things Social Media Has Taught Me

When I created this blog, it was as a means to express both the frustration and fascination I was experiencing from the world of social media.  I was clearly a novice at the time, and am by no means an expert now.  However, I was fascinated by what the industry has become and how it affected our everyday lives.  I was also frustrated by what appeared to be conflicting articles and how-to tips aimed at both the social media marketer and the recipient of these digital marketing messages.

As I read every blog and article I could find on the subject, one thing has become very clear.  Although this is a fairly new industry, the same principles from traditional marketing apply.  Granted, they made need some tweaking; but the basics remain the same.

As previously stated, I do not pretend to be an "expert" by any means; however, some of the things I have learned through trial and error may prove helpful to some who may not have the time to wade through all that has been put out there on the subject:

1. Number of Fans / Followers is not a true gauge - We are constantly seeing social media posts touting the virtues of the number of fans as brand, page, or celebrity may have.  What I have learned, at least from the Facebook end of the social media spectrum, is that the number of fans is not as important as how many people have actually seen your post.  Case in point is the Facebook page set up to promote my other blog, Greater Binghamton Business Profiles.  We currently have a mere 59 followers, since the page was first put up on March 4th.  However, we have reached over 1250 people in 5 days time.  In fact, our first new blog post to be shared to the page reached over 300 people alone.  
2. Images Do Work - One of the continuing themes in all that I have read is that the use of Images in your posts will engage your fans.  Again, using the Facebook page for my other blog, I posted an image along with a thank you to all that have liked the page so far; our reach on that particular post soared to over 550 people.  Now to the dyed in the wool social media gurus, these numbers may be of no consequence.  To a "newbie" such as myself, they are the same as if it were a million people.
3. Park Your Political, Religious and Environmental Opinions at the Door - Again, as a social media coordinator, one must remember that your personal opinions should never enter into the posts that you are generating unless the business or organization are known champions of the cause.  All too often we see posts from well known local and national brands that are obviously the personal opinions of the person posting rather than the business and organization itself.  Not only do these posts reflect negatively on the brand, they also may have a tendency to drive fans away.  It is just as easy to unlike a page or unfollow a Twitter feed.
4. Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling Do Matter - We have become so accustomed to the use of acronyms and abbreviations in our personal interactions whether it be in text messages, on Twitter and in our Facebook posts that we tend to forget the importance of proper grammar, punctuation and spelling.  While your friends and family may not mind seeing the use of "ur" instead of "your" or "LOL" instead of "laughing out loud", a fan of your business posts may interpret such shortcuts as a sign of either laziness or total nonchalance on the part of the poster.  Spelling errors are also something to be avoided. There is no excuse, with all the spell-check options out there, to post something with a flagrant spelling error.
5. Don't forget the Social part of Social Media - All too often we become so engrossed in building up fan bases and getting the messages out there, that we tend to forget that social media is essentially a two-way street.  Once you have gotten your followers' attention, you need to continue the conversation.  If they take the time to comment on a post, the worst thing to do is to ignore it - no matter if it is a positive or negative comment.  In my opinion, ignoring a negative post is the worse of the offenses.  It allows your other, more positive, followers to second guess why they were following you in the first place. 

Five things I have learned from social media.  Okay, I will be honest.  I have probably learned much more than this and will continue to learn.   However, these 5 basic premises are a solid starting out point for anyone venturing into this new area of communication and marketing.  They have helped me along the way and I hope they do the same for you.  Please let me know if you have any set guidelines that you follow; I am always looking for new ideas and techniques.