How not to use social media

May 1, 2014
3 min read

The fact that so many organisations now recognise the benefits of ‘being social’ is fantastic, and represents a real advancement in the way B2B organisations view the role of marketing. But this widespread adoption of social has led to a problem in itself. Namely: lots of businesses using social media really badly.

HOW NOT TO USE LINKEDIN

The professional social network keeps things a little more business-like, sofor some LinkedIn requires a slightly different approach. Don’t start:

Regardless of how much you want to be business acquaintances with the person

in question, and no matter how much it would benefit your business or further your career if you knew them, the fact is you don’t. So, act accordingly. There are ways and means of getting in front of people; but don’t ask to connect with them out of the blue. It’s weird. *The same is true here for LinkedIn’s lamentable ‘Endorsements’ functionality; steer clear.

Abusing the Group LinkedIn’s Groups are one of its success stories. They are home to thousands of thought-provoking discussions, and can be of great use, both to those looking

to inspire and those looking for answers. But be warned; these ‘Groups’ are populated by passionate self-policing social media enthusiasts, so attempts to cheaply steer people away from the Group environment on to your (irrelevant) landing page are often met with hostility.

Being a ghost

It’s true for every social media platform, but it’s perhaps most true of LinkedIn:

if you don’t have a well-completed profile you may as well not bother. You don’t have to include every scrap of your professional history, how many times a day you do the tea run and every milestone your brand has reached, but it’s better to include the basics, rather than have a blank page. It’s your shop window, so why leave the mannequins standing there half-dressed?

Selling

As with most social media platforms, LinkedIn is not particularly conducive to selling. Despite the professional focus of the platform, relatively few users are logging on in order to specifically buy your stuff. It’s a space conducive to collaboration and influencing more than a means to earn a quick buck.

Becoming a stalker

Everyone uses LinkedIn to check out what the person they are meeting for a coffee looks like, or to gain a bit of insight regarding a potential employee, employer or client. But there is another breed of user operating on LinkedIn: the stalker. These people trawl the site, clicking from profile to profile in search of... I don’t know what. Remember, people can see who has been viewing their profile, so it doesn’t pay to snoop around unnecessarily.

Pretending you’re on Facebook

LinkedIn has managed to carve out a niche for itself among the other major social

media players on the strength of its professional focus. It certainly wouldn’t be doing as well as it has if it was battling directly with the friend-focused Facebook or the immediacy of Twitter. Its strength is that people use it for business. It’s worth bearing this in mind because ‘banter’ and flippancy can be taken the wrong way on LinkedIn. It’s probably best to keep most of your LOLs on Facebook