The Unwritten Rules of Social Media - part 3

So, the unwritten rules we have looked at so far are #1 Use the right profile picture, #2 How to write updates. We now turn to the biggest rule for businesses:

Unwritten Rule #3 - Don't Sell

Now you are probably wondering why unwritten rule #3 is don't sell. After all, companies use social media to generate more business.

The reason is this: social media is a two-way tool. It exists for people to communicate with each other - so we need to use it for conversations rather than advertisements.

Think of it this way: would you go into a room full of people you have never met before and just give a sales pitch to every person you meet? No, you wouldn't. And so it is the same with social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo, Myspace, LinkedIn and Twitter. We go there to meet new contacts, to cultivate relationships and when the time is right, ask for the sale.

Unwritten rules part #2 discussed how to write updates and in it, I said that if you are using it for business then 80% of your posts should be business-related. By this, they should be talking about business issues, or give examples of what you are doing.

For example, which would you prefer to read?

(a) "Contact us for social media training, PR and copywriting services. http://bit.ly/7Q8vSt"
or
(b) "Just adding in new examples to next week's social media course. Really looking forward to it. http://bit.ly/dr00MC"

Option (a) is a pure advert. However, people still buy from people, even when they meet on-line through social networking sites.

Just promoting your goods and services is a form of spamming and is the easiest and fastest way to stop people following you.

(b) on the otherhand gives an insight into the person writing the post, what they are doing and whether they enjoy it. It gives us a glimpse of their personality and whether you might get on. By mentioning the course and a link to it gives readers the option to find out more if they read the post thinking, 'I wonder what the examples are... and would that course be of benefit to me?'.

So to summarise:
Don't sell, think conversation. Selling on social networking sites is a form of spam and should be avoided. However, mentioning what you are doing, with links to find out additional information is ultimately more effective.

Next time: Unwritten Rule # 4: How to Increase Your Followers