Thursday, January 10, 2013

3 Social Media Tips on Sharing


Enough of the sharing posts “directly” on Google+! Sometimes it’s utter nonsense, other times it’s a blog post, however, most of it is solicitation!

#1 Posts shared directly: Here’s a post that was recent shared directly with me on Google+. He is indeed a “new comer” just like he says, with 56 followers: 

Good Morning....I'm a new comer to this space. I've recently been contracted to solicit business for a media company. "XXXX XXXX" is a 2D and 3D motion graphics specialist. Please check out the demo reel and advise as to market opportunities. (link)

I wrote back and informed him that this was not the way to get my attention. He wrote back and asked “How would you do it then?” Still stumped as to why a company hired him! 

Let’s face it. Sharing posts directly can be very rude and may result in getting blocked! Alternative: Get to know some people on Google+ instead and see if they are a fit for the product or service you are offering. Then invite them to join the page for that product or service. Yes, much gentler and it takes longer. Again and again, I tell folks that social media is not a sales tool!

And just now, as I am writing this, a gent shared a post! It has a URL and nothing more. Sigh.

#2 Sharing a post. When sharing a friend’s post on Facebook or Google+, be aware of how they posted it originally: Publicly, to friends of friends, or friends only. Google+ will warn you about this; very nice of them! Facebook will not. 

There have been numerous times when I’ve shared a photo on Facebook just for my friends where a friend has shared that post publicly! Now, the photo may not have been so personal, however, what I say about it is. I don’t care to let 1 billion plus folks know that I was recently away from home and the specifics about where I was. 

Please DO pay attention to those little symbols on Facebook when you share!

#3 Like, share! If you share something, at least LIKE it first! This shows the poster that you enjoy what they are posting and it reassures them that they are posting great stuff. Sharing and not liking is borderline rudeness. This seems to be more common on Google+ than Facebook. On my MODern Marketing 4 U Facebook page, there was one fan that was notorious for this practice. I never said anything though at the risk of ruffling feathers. Someone must have said something to her, perhaps from another page and she now likes a post when she shares. Thank you very much! 

We have certain behaviors when we meet folks in person and there are certain courtesies that should be followed in the world of social media as well. For a business, it’s important to maintain a level of professionalism. And there’s not a lot written on this subject…yet. Hmmm….

The Guess Who sang about sharing back in 1970; little did they know that how we share and where we share would evolve in the 40+ years since this song was a hit. Speaking of "hits" ...we'd be pleased as punch if you place your cursor on one of the links below and hit enter, then say hello to us at our website, or hi on TwitterFacebook, or Google+



2 comments:

Shannon Grissom said...

Good post. I'll pay more attention to my shares!

Gerry Wendel said...

Sounds good Shannon! Yeah, a lot of folks don't think about it. We all use our Facebook profiles differently.