37 "No No's" for Digital Marketing

Working on major Branding, Marketing and Social Media Strategies for the last 20+ years, I've seen a few trends and activities that have made me raise an eyebrow and sigh.

The first point I should make is that I totally respect that everyone does things differently and we are all unique. This article explores some of my observations and personal opinion based on my personal experience and also in my capacity as a consultant working on contracts who hire my company insight2marketing.

• People who are obsessed with fans and followers - see quality over quantity for my take on this!
• People who don’t make time to measure what they are doing, or share relevant, interesting content
• People who overdo the sales pitching. Many experts talk of a ratio of 80/20, see image below and look out for my email newsletter on this in a few weeks

• The non-humanised businesses who don’t get human interaction
•  Egos on social media who think they are above others - the online celebs who ignore the little people. Makes me sad to be honest.
•  People who always ‘wait a few minutes’ for viewers to join their live stream *covers eyes*. Hello! They can watch the replay. Whether it is 1 person or 3 people or 100 or 300, just go for it! Take ACTION!
• Personalities who spam (and tag) other people’s timeline (tweet, after tweet, after tweet after tweet) with the same message. Not even slightly tweaked. In the slightest.
• People who beg for follows and those who buy likes and hearts - even if it is just to get their account up and running. Do you really need to do that. Is it a popularity contest, where you are continuously competing with others.
• The self titled and acclaimed 'social media expert', who has ab-solutely no current knowledge of the latest trends on social media, beyond textbook LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook! Is that ok?
• The inconsistent email newsletter sender, that only appears when there is something on sale. Buy this one time offer now!
•  Businesses who post inconsistently. Yet are able to post irregular and irrelevant content consistently. Quality over quantity is important.
• The all group WhatsApp message sender, who sends onto everyone in their phonebook as a broadcast
• The tagger - yup! You try and tag everyone in everything. And typically you are a cheapskate when it comes to investing in your marketing. Every post you do about your product, event, business etc is tagged to 60+ people. You want visibility via other people's networks - tagging is okay in some instances. But how about you show some etiquette and consider sending me an email or calling me to connect and get my agreement. Alternatively, once or twice for the month is fine - more so if I'm speaking at the event etc. But every single post you send out? No. That's a no no. In fact, I am now managing these kinds of business relationships differently, as I feel (on an ongoing basis) it is quite rude. Cue the 'defriend' hint here.
• And on the defriending. Why do people need to announce when they are doing a 'defriend activity'. Umm - just do it. Nobody cares. And if they do they don't have enough work to do. You are the boss. Defriend and unfollow irrespective of who may give two hoots. Stop talking about it as a way to seek attention
• People that send that flowers and hearts with a 'Please forward onto 10 people or we'll die" message. I need a VA to coordinate these messages now. I love them, I really do but after I have received 30 in a week, it gets quite tedious. I know you mean well.
• The business person who gets upset when you don't like their status or photo. How old are we?
• Hashtagging unrelated Guest Speakers and business professionals' names in your promo - even though they have no association or relevance with the product or service that is being promoted! Cheeky mare!
• ·     THAT text, you know that you didn’t even opt in to receive. The one with several images attached that clogs your inbox, the text promoting that event that you don't want to attend
• ·     The newsletter that arrives in your inbox, daily. Sometimes twice a day because even though you've unsubscribed, they haven't done their data cleanse.
• ·     People who contact by email, with an email subject line that starts “ RE: ” even though we’ve never had any form of email communication
• ·     Professionals who get very unprofessional with their content. That said, by whose 'opinion' or 'judgement'. Mine in this instance. Yes, we must be authentic and post what you want where you want BUT, do we need to draw a line at consistently posting half naked pics, boobage and bottoms everywhere? Your opinions are welcomed. I mean, I get it (and sometimes it is engaging in small doses lol). But seriously - it does make me question who someone's target audience is when they behave in this way? Especially if they are a highly sexualised attention seeking consultant). Mind you, if it pays the bills and your vibe attracts your tribe and all that jazz, right? Who knows, probably lands a few major deals. We are all unique after all and I recognise that not everyone will love what you stand for as a brand! For example, hands up on my side, I know that sometimes I can be misinterpreted or come across quite ranty or overly passionate (especially when it is about clients getting ripped off). This happens sometimes - but I'm comfortable with that as that's just me - occasionally. I don't think that approach would be sensible as a long term solution for content.
• ·     Private business social media accounts... unless you work with children, mental health, or other sensitive related matters, I'm not sure why people do this if they want to attract new clients and connect. Again, it is down to personal preference, but more importantly - your business objectives. You are the boss!
• ·     People who go on and on about the thousands of followers they have (and when you look at their newsfeed they have less than one retweet a day). It is said that Jesus had 12 main followers. And, even if you're not in the slightest bit religious, hope you'll appreciate the example used here.

Nobody is perfect - but there are a few things that jar me when it comes to digital or social media tactics

• ·     People who blag everything. Like.....their whole life is a lie. Not my business though, just an observation - but the fake it till you make it line is not a sensible business strategy at all *covers eyes again*
• ·     That one person who always posts quote, on repeat. The quote machine is set for hourly quotes every hour, on the hour, across every feed. Quite brand damaging.
• ·     The business owner who integrates every platform going. Hello! Where is the human??All people can see on Twitter is how many times you've posted a video, liked a YouTube video, uploaded a blog or shared a pic on Instagram. So your tweets come from Instagram and twitter or Facebook to Twitter. Can we sort this out please? Book onto one of my Masterclasses and I will help you!
• ·     The selfie queen (or king). Over 50% of the photos posted are pouts, shoes, handbags and material "ish". Vibe/Tribe, yes I get it!! But where is the interaction with followers? Human to human interaction...convo. Missing...
• ·     The lazy networker who looks at all of your contacts as a strategy to get their own client and mistakenly connects with your closest friends and family members. Yes, personally I find this one laughable as it shows no real thought or strategy at all
• ·     The unauthentic live streamer, you know the person who is basically regurgitating what every other expert is saying! No originality at all.
• ·     The person who hates making or watching videos and goes on and on about ‘really hating themself on camera’ but then claims to be a (marketing) expert? Ummm, I'm confused. If you're going to be giving advice on subjects like public speaking, online marketing or business strategy, can we try and lead by example - or invest in a confidence coach so that you can get your video game on. It may not be your cup of tea, but I'd encourage you to totally go for it! Surprise yourself. I bet you'll totally rock at it. Take action!
• The person who whines about people who are 'too noisy' on social media, because (even though some of the noisy people are producing GREAT content), they don't like to do their business that way. Or in many cases, they simply feel out of sync, unable to keep up. I admit there are people who overdo it - a big bag of noise - with no real value at all. If you are around noisy streamers, posters, social media peeps might I suggest you mute, unfollow or unfriend?
• The business owner that doesn’t even post business related content. So how exactly are you demonstrating your knowledge and expertise? Consider setting up a Group

• The person who schedules everythaaang. Nothing posted live. Every update is via a scheduling platform. The real person and face of the business is Casper the ghost

#I'm #in #The #MiddleAboutHashtags

• ·     The business owner that makes out that he/she can deliver a task on social media - yet they are dumbfounded when questioned on the spot, about tactics and strategies they've been selling (and quite obviously outsourcing). And they have absolutely no idea - about anything they're talking about !
• The hashtag fanatic. Okay so, #ImInTheMiddleOnThisOne. Yes, hands up, even I still feel ill looking at some of my own posts particularly the older ones - and I can admit it publicly. I am not perfect. And neither are my clients. That said, as the years have gone on, both I and my clients have had major success using hashtags strategically across all of our profiles. This has resulted in organic, steady growth, engaged followers, a loyal online community and increase in sales.
• ·     Social media Gurus who don’t walk their talk. They talk a good game but they are quite anti-social online and in person. < Inserts link about leaders and influencers here >
• Business owner eggheads - professionals on social media who are just a silhouette - they don't show an avatar or photo. They don't want to show an avatar or photo.
• The business professional who feels it is okay to ....<< you tell me >>

ps - Do check out the Quality Over Quantity article here

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What's your view?

I'd love to hear your views on this, maybe I'm on my own with a lot of these opinion. #aski2M Action Takers will benefit from the solutions to these 37 pointers mentioned here - along with 'How To' tips on 'How To' smash it on social media when you're just starting out.

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