… and that’s okay, I guess.
I say this because I see social media experts:
1.) Publishing valuable, original content on someone else’s domain.
I just don’t get this at all. Why would anyone, much less a social media expert, publish their own content in such a way that it creates value for some other domain? If you’re using Quora blogs or Google+ or LinkedIn to publish evergreen content that attracts links and generates long-term value, you’re not getting as much value as the site hosting the content.
As I wrote in my article, Where & How to Start a Business Blog, great content should be published on your own domain so that it can serve you for years to come, and because it won’t disappear if and when the site shuts down or changes direction. And if you don’t think that’ll ever happen to your favorite site (that you don’t own), ask yourself how all those people and businesses that built their empire on MySpace.com 6-7 years ago are feeling right now.
2.) Tweeting their Foursquare check-ins, TV viewings and other … stuff. (Or posting Facebook check-ins as status updates.)
I imagine an argument would be made that this kind of thing helps fans/followers learn more about you via the places you visit, programs that you watch, etc. And maybe it opens the door for a deeper connection with some people — i.e., “I love that show/restaurant, too!” Okay, maybe so.
But I just can’t imagine anyone caring about where I’ve checked-in, what badge I just won or what TV show I’m watching. So I’d never want to post this kind of content into my Facebook or Twitter streams. It just seems like clutter to me. And maybe a bit narcissistic.
3.) Retweeting when someone says something nice about them.
When someone compliments me, I hope my normal response is to offer a sincere “thanks.” That’s how I try to respond when someone tweets about how they liked one of my articles or something I said/did. When someone compliments me, I don’t grab a megaphone and say “Hey, everyone, did you hear that? Here’s what John/Jane just said about me. Aren’t I great?”
Don’t get me wrong: I know that self-promotion is part of doing business and pitching yourself to potential customers. As I said in the comments of this conversation with Andy Beal, I expect to see self-promotion and customer testimonials on a company website. But I don’t expect to see so much of it in a Twitter or Facebook stream.
A year ago, almost everyone agreed with me when I asked about the practice of retweeting when someone mentions you in a Follow Friday list. I think this is pretty much the same thing.
Bottom Line
I don’t believe — and don’t mean to suggest — that there’s only one way to use social media (i.e., mine). We all have to come up with guidelines and principles that fit our own voice, our own goals, our own idea of what works and what doesn’t.
At the same time, maybe it’s good to keep in mind that some of the things that the “social media experts” are doing and suggesting aren’t universally considered smart things.
(Stock image via Shutterstock.com. Used under license.)
This is a post from Matt McGee's blog, Small Business Search Marketing.
My Definition of “Social Media Expert” is Different from Social Media Experts…
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