Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media Marketing

According to Scott Stratten, there are seven deadly sins that hinder successful social media marketing that yield desired results. They are:

Gluttony

The point of participating in social media is not to spread yourself too thin, trying to be everywhere. Instead, you should try to be great in the one or two outlets that you choose to establish a presence in. What happens when you spread yourself too thin is what Scott Stratten calls Mannequin Networking where the company or individual has a presence but is not really there. The ability to react and interact on one medium is more effective than being present on every media but without any real presence.

Pride

It is not possible to ignore certain tools or applications because you dislike them. To indulge in this behaviour could result in missed opportunities for you or your company. Scott Stratten advised that it is better to learn about it and if you consequently hate it, you are rejecting it from a position of knowledge rather than ignorance. This is because you may not be impressed with a certain tool, yet it maybe the commonly tool used by your target audience.

Sloth

There is little use in having a presence on a site if you are not going to utilise it. If the twitter handle or facebook page you have opened remains neglected, it is better to delete it. There is no need to try to operate an account that you can only monitor weekly or monthly. The whole point of social media is engagement and connection and if one does not like to do so, it is best to be completely absent.

Greed

There is only one way to legitimately increase one’s friends, fans, or followers and that is to improve one’s content. There are no shortcuts or instant gratification in social media. Asking for followbacks or invading other people’s blogs or sites asking for followers creates the wrong impression. Slow but sure wins that race.

Envy

The pretension perpetuated by some by claiming to be ‘humbled’ by compliments and then re- tweeting these compliments repeatedly gives the impression that is the opposite of humble. This is exacerbated when all negative comments posted on one’s page are deleted.

Wrath

When someone has had a bad experience or is angry about something, if they have a social media account, they are likely to share the experience. The opposite is also true. When a person experiences good or exceptional service they are also likely to say so. Therefore it is important to keep this in mind as you conduct your offline interactions.

Apathy

Arbitrary invitations to like a page, follow a company or tweet without giving a reason will make no sense to your target audience creating a sense of apathy. This leads them to ignore your messages if they are not actively turning them down. It is good therefore to conduct a due diligence that will let you know what your clients are interested it and what would pique their interests.

Go on and make your confession here. What is your social media sin?