The Point That Social Media Marketers Like to Miss
With all the talk about social media marketing, and the value of social networking, it surprises me that the exponents of this “method” miss the most important point.
That is, that social marketing is a great way of creating a buzz, but is a poor substitute for a balanced approach of paid advertising and good search engine optimization.
I was looking at some of Plurks most popular members today, and note a feature that is common to all.
Their responses far out number their original plurks.
Teeg has 409 plurks, and 6624 responses while still building traffic to her site.
kdfrawg has 641 Plurks, and 15282 responses while still managing to promote his blog here.
Many marketers make the mistake of coming on to social media platforms and simply leaving the link to their website, and not interacting much at all.
Last weekend one well known marketer did that several times, and after several attempts to stop following his timeline, and mute his plurks, I simply dropped him as a friend.
I wasn’t the only one – when I checked back on Tuesday, the number of friends on his profile had dropped by half.
If he doesn’t soon wake up, he will be broadcasting to no one.
I know that he is much more responsible on Linkedin, Myspace and Facebook, where we are also connected so why he chose to do this I have no idea.
People seem to get away with this behavior on Twitter, but Plurk is a different beast altogether.
As KDFrawg says on his blog, Twitter is for announcements, and Plurk is for conversations.
Social media is about interaction, and being social.
Adding friends, and then simply advertising your latest project to them is in reality, not networking at all.
I’d call it treating people with contempt.
I generally stop following people who constantly do this.
Hopefully, one day the message will get through…
I love Plurk for the conversations that ‘broadcasting’ aspect of Twitter was a real turn off for me. What I love most about a two-way social media is that you’re developing relationships with real people rather than feeling like you’re being botted at.
This works because people you know love to know what you’re doing. Because we’ve had a chance to come to care about each other we look forward to reading our friends latest blog entry.
I think the most important thing to remember, and the rule that dominates everything I’ve ever come across is to maintain balance.
Hi Allan, Watch, listen, participate, evaluate, market – that's the more effective order for engagement with social media. And preferable the last will be the least of the five (if you have to do it at all). Advertisers do believe that they build trust in brands through advertising (aka: shouting at people through a megaphone) – but increasingly I find holes in this approach. Honest, earnest participation, demonstrating respect, ethics and constraints is substantially more effective, and snowballs over time. Cheers, Craig
You are so right. The age of simply Broadcasting is on its way out. As Plurkers we do broadcast. Hey how did I know you posted this – good 'ol Plurk. The point is clear by all means Broadcast on Plurk but Interact with the community. Failure to do so may well see Broadcasters identified as "Snake Oil" Peddlers. The Plurker community has become that a very caring and sharing community. It has fun, it shares just about everything and anything including the odd broadcast of what we do in the outside world.
As always you hit the nail on the head Allan, I think we should observe what others are doing on a platform before jumping in and trying to "own" it. See what the "tribe" is doing already then decide if you can contribute something USEFUL to the conversation. If you can't then that particular platform is not for you. There are plenty of social sites to go around, pick one that meshes with your particular style of communication don't try to force your style on the platform.
Thanks Camilla,
I like what you say about hanging back rather than jumping straight in. I thnk that people tend to forget that we are all different, with different tastes and so no.
Cheers
Allan
Thanks Jim,
I don’t mind receiving broadcasts, as long as they aren’t over done.
I’ve seen some do 5 or 6 in a matter of less than an hour. When I see that, I usually decide not to follow that person, and/or not visit their site anyway!
G’day Craig.
I agree with you about what the advertisers think – people really want transparency, and a good product.
What many people don’t realise in their marketing is that they are the product, not the item that they are selling.
By building relationship, people are more likely to trust them, which will bring increased business anyway.
Thanks,
Allan
G’day Becca,
Balance really is the key, and wins all the time.
The relationships that I build are more important than anything that I sell, because as I have said before, transparency builds trust..
Cheers,
Allan
Terrific post, Allan!
I agree that you’ve got to do more than simply post links to your website(s).
I have also dropped one or two people as friends–not because I don’t like them, but because they persistently continued to drop links and not interact with me. People get away with it on Twitter because it’s just one huge, continuous stream of posts, rather than a detailed timeline with threaded conversations, like Plurk.
But the true colors come out in Plurk. :)Hope Wilbankss last blog post..Make Exercise Fun For Your Family
Thanks Hope,
I’m glad you like the post.
It seems to be a common theme among people that I talk to – they don’t mind the occasional link, but without interaction, there isn’t much point.
Someone who over does it on Plurk soon pays the price.
Apart from the friends that I have met there, I have learned so much at Plurk, that it has become a great resource for me too!
Cheers
I like this post Allan! I think there has to be a balance as to the conversations and you have to be really careful about when you drop links. If people are interacting with you and you back with them, it’s freedom of choice if you follow their links or not. I don’t like people that abuse the system either. It makes me uncomfortable when links are pushed upon me whether it’s Plurk, or another social medium. It’s always great to read your posts.
G’day Ange,
Glad you like the post!
This has become a soap box issue across most social networking sites.
Cheers
Hi, Allan.
I was sure I’d commented here, but then remembered we discussed this on Plurk. This is a good post and I agree with you wholeheartedly. I really don’t want to drop anyone as a friend on there, but certain conversations are starting to feel slightly one-sided.
David Bridgers last blog post..How do you carry on writing when the sky falls around you?
G’day David,
I dropped another one today unfortunately, as they had a habit of making about six plurks at once every few hours asking inane questions, and dropping links.
Because of the number of mutual friends, they tend to clog the timeline over a 24 hour period. Mute didn’t work, and my attempts to ‘unfollow’ failed as well, so..
Cheers
Allan