1. Mass inviting friends – C’mon I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but inviting a bunch of people from your area to be your friend because it’s going to benefit you at your new job is just lazy. Once you send them a message about your “new job” that “remove from friends” button just got a lot bigger.
2. 
Did you leave caps lock on? Is it your first time on Facebook? Yes, you want to get our attention, we can see that, but typing in all caps makes it sound like you’re yelling (go on, try reading a message in all caps with a small voice, it feels weird) Most people upon seeing a message in all caps chuckle to themselves then ignore the message.
3. Creating a group or a fan page for the sole purpose of creating a group or a fan page. – If you don’t have a clear idea or goal in mind about why you are starting a Facebook group or fan page then don’t do it (or do it and don’t invite anyone). Nothing is more mind-numbingly obvious that you have no clue how to market to people then inviting me to your fan page to give me updates about your company that I do not care about. Before you create a fan page or group please ask yourself, why?
4. Excessively bothering people who are a part of your group, fan page, attending your event, etc. – If I join your group you’ve obviously peaked my interest in some way. Don’t ruin it for yourself by bombarding me with messages. Plan messages out and have a purpose for even the simplest ones. The best way to get me to leave your group or fan page is to keep bothering me with messages that do not pertain to me. Update all you want, you’ll end up in my news feed, that is fine, but sometimes all it takes is one meaningless message that loses the trust I once had in you, leaving your group never to return.
Did I forget any? Please let me know what YOU think people should never do on Facebook in the comments below.
Word-of-Mouth of course. If you disagree, please, I’d love to hear why in the comments below. Word-of-mouth is the most authentic and effective because for it to occur successfully, there must be more than a minimum level of trust established. Let me explain.
If I don’t trust you I will never take your advice on anything, let alone a product I will be purchasing. On the contrary, if I trust you a lot (an influencer in my life) I will take your word on what I should buy over any marketing message no matter how clever it is.
Trust = influence.
As fast as we can share our opinions on Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc. I can’t fathom why more businesses haven’t created incentives for customers to share their delightful experiences online for others to see. EXAMPLE: Foursquare is becoming a very useful tool for me, now that people are sharing their opinions openly when checking in.
Your brand isn’t your website, store, logo or your OWN perception of your company. Your brand is what other people say about you and the internet makes it much easier to say anything about your company, positive or negative.
This is your warning, it’s only going to increase, how are you encouraging positive word-of-mouth?
On September 16th the Executing Social Media conference will be held in Regina at the Queensbury Convention Centre. Now I may be a bit biased but I think they have a great lineup of speakers. Some locals and some from abroad all taking about our favorite topic, online media.
Besides myself the list of speakers includes:
Kip Simon – President, 22 Fresh
Mike Klein Senior Online Communications Strategy at University of Saskatchewan
Philippe Leclerc, Interactive Communications Manager at the City of Regina
Adam Herstein - Partner, Pitblado LLP
Doug Walker - President, WebWalker
Ryan Lejbak – CEO & Co-Founder, ZU
To see all the speakers and presentation outlines click here. Let me know if you are attending as we may organize a small Tweet up the night of the conference.
Photo Credit: Hubspot.com
BEXDM5AZVCKN
When I was a kid I used to hate how bright it got in my room on Summer mornings. My solution for years was taping garbage bags around the window sill to keep the light out. It didn’t work that well and in my Mom’s opinion an unnecessary waste of tape and garbage bags.
It wasn’t until years later when I rethought the problem I solved it with a much simpler solution. A black headband that covered my eyes completely.
Sometimes when you look at a problem the first solution you come up with isn’t always the best. Keep thinking.
