Social Spammers… Don’t Waste Your Time!
Spamming has been in evidence ever since the Internet began to mature and people realized they could reach masses of people relatively easily. It began with email, and when that was found to no longer be effective, folks got creative.
Nowadays you can find blog spam, comment spam, forum spam, Facebook spam, Twitter spam, LinkedIn spam, Spammed Ham… Oh wait… I think I’m just hungry, scratch that last part.
Really though, spammers are getting more and more creative and finding new ways to push their unasked for and unwanted wares in our faces. It’s really quite maddening at times and FYI Spammers… IT DOESN’T WORK!
Honestly, if you’re a spammer when’s the last time you made a buck from all your fevered spamming efforts? Did that big Guru on Twitter notice your spam and buy your stuff?
Did that cool chick on Facebook looking for a Cuisinart buy a Cuisinart from the unasked for affiliate spam link you decided to send her? I highly doubt it!
And guess what… for all of you that send me spam links in my Twitter feed hoping I’ll click, like, and share? Forget it. Try introducing yourself first. Try sending me something of value that helps me in someway. Try getting to know me. Try being freakin’ human already! Otherwise… keep your sh%# and sell it to someone whose buying because it’s just not me nor 99.999 percent of the rest of the population either. So you just might be SOL either way.
OK… rant over. Maybe.
And for those of you interested?
Here is the right way to use social media platforms to market and brand yourself.
1. Be a person… as in a real one with real thoughts, ideas, and feelings. Let people connect with you and get to know you not some autobot you set up because you were looking for an easy buck.
2. Make relationships your goal not sales. Because the big, hairy bulk of people who will ever buy from you… will be people that know you, like you, and trust what you have to say. In other words, to them you’re NOT a fly by night spammer.
3. Make it your goal to provide value in everything you do. Even when you think folks may not see it. You’d be surprised just how many DO see it and take note, and come back later to get to know you better. And even send you a nice email or two. (That’s the fun part btw!)
4. Do more listening, less broadcasting. No one likes a bragger. No one likes that guy at the party that’s so full of himself he’s talked of nothing BUT himself for the last 3 hours. Can we say “Total Bore”? Take the time to listen to your readers, your prospects, your friends and followers. Listen and do your best to help them in some way. Everyone’s got problems and people always remember the guy who helped them solve it for no other reason than to be helpful.
5. Participate with your community. No that doesn’t mean you have to be crazy active on the social media scene. But do set up some sort of schedule of time that you devote to your social communities to interact, communicate, and relate. Make it part of your weekly to-do list and a little genuine interaction can really go a long way.
6. And finally… remember to give without expectations. Often times people get discouraged in social media because they feel like they do all the right things, but no one reciprocates. But if you’re patient you’ll find that your blessings to others send blessings your own way when you least expect it.
Do those six things and I have no doubt you’ll see a marked increase in your success with social media… both for your business, marketing and branding purposes as well as marked increase in your own personal satisfaction. You’ll be building relationships that will often stand the test of time and bless your life tenfold in more ways than you likely ever expected.
And THAT is how social media is meant to be used. At least in my (mostly) humble opinion.
Cori is a wildly hire-able freelance ‘ghost’ as well as the creative brains and dubious brawn behind her blog Big Girl Branding. Feel free to also stalk her on Twitter if you really want to.
(Image from the Thoughtpick blog)
Hi ! I would add a 7th tip to your list, if you agree : be honnest ! (if iit is still possible as business is concerned)
Definitely! Honesty is super important, great 7th tip! 😀
Warm regards,
C
I wonder why people choose spamming instead there are thousand of ways like this, but the question is some how we are being involved…
Great advice. I like the way you show how spamming doesn’t work and then give a solution. More people need to follow your advice!
[…] Social Spammers… Don’t Waste Your Time! […]
Thanks Sue! Glad you enjoyed the post.
C
I wonder why people choose spamming instead there are thousand of ways like this, but the question is some how we are being involved…
Really liked the second part of the article with the tips.
Great post. To answer shafi’s question, people spam and broadcast because it’s cheap and easy. Employing a human to listen and cultivate relationships requires effort 😉
good list, cheeky backlink?
Drew
It gets to me too, the amount of spam I have to remove from blog posts.
This is good advice, I will be sharing this post with my followers and clients as my clients often stop using social media because they do not feel they are getting anything out of it, because all they mainly do is sell themselves.
What a GREAT article…social media is about building relationships and reaching out to others. Both online and off, LISTENING is more valuable than speaking.
Loved the article. I catch myself falling into this trap because it is so easy to do. I try to make an effort to not do the things that I hate getting. A lot of people in my industry go around knocking on doors, I will not do it because I hate people coming to my house trying to sell me something.
The fact that spam is still so prominent does make me think it must be profitable for those cretins. But honestly, what sort of “conversion” are they getting? How many spam comments results in one getting through… on a decent site it’s got to be zero, because they are all moderated. And the graveyard sites which are riddled with spam are worthless.
This is good advice, I will be sharing this post with my followers and clients as my clients often stop using social media because they do not feel they are getting anything out of it, because all they mainly do is sell themselve