By Published On: February 8, 2012

by Victoria Hoshal

As consumer-facing companies struggle to refine their media mix, they may or may not understand the delicate balance of how much is too much – or not enough, within their social marketing channel. We suggest that marketers keep in mind the following basic principles in order to maximize and leverage their social media marketing activities.

5 do’s of social media

  • Follow your brand & products on all social media channels & listen on a daily basis
  • Create original content that will lead customers to actionable areas of your website
  • Create a business public profile, which allows you to separate your personal and professional online lives, for yourself on relevant social channels
  • Take action when negative/positive comments are made – even if it is to send up a red flag to the appropriate person in your organization or agency
  • Use your SEO keywords in your social media messaging and update as needed

5 don’ts of social media

  • Respond to posts & comments with boilerplate language
  • Send a spam direct message “thank you” to Twitter users following you or your brand – unless there is a relevant offer/tip attached
  • Share personal information on Facebook & Twitter unless it is part of brand building (personal or company)
  • Use trending hashtags on Twitter unless they directly relate to your brand and are non-controversial
  • Use canned content from other websites to fill your social media messaging gaps

Lastly, marketers should remain vigilant and sensitive to consumer privacy and consumer attitudes and preferences. Understanding that consumers desire the opportunity to give a company feedback on their products or services, but may not want to be targeted via their social profile. In a study recently released by the Insight Strategy Group, nearly 64% of participants stated they “hate” being targeted by a company via their social networking profile, and 58% agreed that social media marketing is invasive.

Smart marketers will find other ways to carefully utilize consumer preferences and behavior data generated from the social channel. Click here to read the complete story from MediaPost News – Study:  Consumers View Social Marketing As Invasive.

About the Author: Megan Devine

Megan Devine
Megan taps into her left-brain logic and right brain creativity—steering the business, bantering with her team, and strategizing on client work. She says it’s her dream job and we believe her. Using her passion and knack for understanding complex connections in business and marketing, she collaborates to create love between brands and customers. She possesses expertise and experience that only comes from persevering in the ever-changing marketing agency world. Megan co-founded d.trio marketing group, now cat&tonic, in January of 2000 and took sole ownership in 2019. Her vision, support, and sheer stubbornness got us through 9/11, the great recession, and a pandemic. She has judged the International ECHO Awards since 2005, has consulted for several organizations, and serves on several boards. Educated at Carleton College, she learned the importance of critical thinking for success. At home she learned the value of a good story.
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