Anti-Social Social Networkers - Do's & Dont's

Social Networking is an integral component to any web marketing strategy, we all know this. However, execution requires attention-to-detail and interaction with your market if you want to reap any benefits from this form of marketing. 

Frankly, there are many what I refer to as "spickets" of information. That is, bloggers, business owners, and social media "experts" that ignore their following yet constantly drip out information. The information is of no importance if people feel you are not engaging them. Why should they listen to you? What makes you a better authority on any topic than the next expert?

In the beginning, I too fell into this category, until I sat back to brainstorm why my followers seemed deaf or just plain ignored me. It does not matter how well informed you are or beautiful your default picture is, when it comes to social networking, you must be SOCIAL.

7 Things You Should DO:

1. Only sign up for sites that you can regularly frequent and add value to you as well. If you have the attitude that you are telling people something they did not know before and they will just listen to you because of that -- think again. Major fail.
2. Create a schedule to visit the sites so that you can read messages, answer questions, reply back, and stay abreast of what is going on.
3. Delete all sites that seem to be time consuming but not yielding any new leads or information you can use for your market.
4. Research the site before signing up. Dormant profiles just leave you vulnerable to spam and unwanted contact from email harvesters that visit the site.
5. After initial signup, make sure your profile is complete and all privacy settings are tuned to your standards.
6. Use a separate email address from your work email and personal email for social networking sites that you use exclusively for your business. You do not want to become bombarded with unwanted messages in your main inbox -- it will affect your productivity. 
7. Decide on an appropriate photo that is YOU. Not your brand, your logo, or the first Google image you pulled. People will interact with a person, but will shy away from people who come off as fake or spam-like.

7 Things You Should NOT Do:

1. Signup for every site your friends and colleagues are on.
2. Turn on Twitterfeeds that constantly "spew" out information, with no human interaction.
3. Leave your pages dormant or lifeless for periods of time without announcing your hiatus.
4. Ask for comments on your blog, and then publish them without acknowledgement or thanks to the person leaving the comment
5. Harvest content from irrelevant or spam-like sources and expect people to take you seriously
6. Ignore your messages, replies, or generally act as a know-it-all. Possible clients may not like this so much.
7. Write only about your business or service. Instead integrate personal information and relevant news into your interaction and see how this works instead.

There are other things to consider as well. Privacy concerns for your personally identifiable information should first be guarded by you. Google your handle, email addresses, and aliases to see how and where your information is distributed. 

Prospective employers and Human Resource Departments will look for you on social networking sites as well. If you are speaking on controversial, political, or very personal topics -- they will find them out as well. Don't ever forget that the world is watching; it is still the world wide web.

I hope this helps you in some way and brings some things to your attention. Feel free to leave your social networking do's and don'ts in the comment section below.

ChrissyBiz Solutions provides clients with customized, results-driven web marketing strategies. Our primary business writing duties include: article marketing,  search engine optimized web copy, blog content, social media, press releases, and newsletters  designed to drive traffic to your website and influence buyers decisions when purchasing products and services.

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