donfperkins.com

I’m a big fan of Google+ because I think it holds great potential for creating relationships and building brand influence within your markets. That said, there’s a lot that can go wrong in social media marketing.

Case in point, this poor misguided soul ebusing my Google+ inbox:

It’s not clear if he’s doing his own social media marketing or if he hired somebody else. He didn’t respond back when I asked, (Yet another stupid idea in social media marketing: not responding to comments..) but unfortunately, sending this post directly to me just show that he has the wrong idea about how to use social media to actually attract and engage clients.

First of all, Restaurant Hood Cleaning. Really? I don’t own a restaurant. Second of all, his company is in California and I am in New Hampshire. Even if I had a need for what he does, it’s not likely to be worth his while to drive 3000 miles each way to clean my grill hoods now is it? Clearly he did no research prior to attempting contact with me.

So as not to embarrass the poor dude too much, I have blacked out his name and company name, but folks, please don’t be like this guy. Social media marketing is not a broadcast “spray and pray” marketing channel. It’s not a digital billboard. It’s way more than that! There were all sorts of flaming comments under his post because lots of people really hate getting useless crap in their inbox. (yes, I’m using the word “hate.”)

Social Media Marketing Done Right

Social media is a chance to demonstrate professionalism and real value. It’s a chance to listen to, talk with, to locate and engage those who are likely to resonate with what you do, and build a valuable relationship that benefits both parties. It’s a chance to entertain, educate, interest potential buyers and reach a much larger marketplace than traditional marketing channels.

Stunts like the one above though (or like blindly inviting every one you know to join your very specific Google+ community which has nothing to do with them) just show that you have no idea what you’re doing or how to appeal to people in a meaningful way. You would be better of doing nothing! As the old saying goes:

“It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

A solid social media marketing strategy can go a long way toward developing leads, helping you get found, get engaged with buyers and build strong partnerships that endure. Or you could just blast your crap ads to everyone, regardless of whether or not they want it, treating social media like a newspaper ad or a billboard on the side of the highway. If you goal is to offend people rather than appeal to them, then go for it!

What other examples of stupid social media marketing have you seen?