{"id":1288,"date":"2010-04-23T08:53:03","date_gmt":"2010-04-23T12:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2010-05-11T00:12:17","modified_gmt":"2010-05-11T04:12:17","slug":"hoofdstuk-11-11-commandments-of-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/hoofdstuk-11-11-commandments-of-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Hoofdstuk 12: ’11 commandments of social media’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re a creative type, a business owner or an experienced regional marketer, the proliferation of social media recently can confuse, bemuse and excite in equal measure. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no longer enough to send out monthly newsletters or email campaigns to talk to potential customers \u2013 now we\u2019re supposed to actually engage with them, talk to them, and respond to them in real-time across social media platforms.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

The worst thing? You can\u2019t escape it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Facebook has more than 400 million users, Twitter accounts have increased by nearly 1,382% in the last 12-month period alone, whilst Technorati currently monitors more than 133 million blogs across the Internet. To survive online, social media involvement appears to be a must-have activity. Go where customers hang out.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are, however, some basic considerations for effective social media engagement. Here\u2019s my Top 10 Commandments for social media:<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Thou shall not spam<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whatever you do, don\u2019t spam your customers or target markets. They won\u2019t appreciate a barrage of poorly-researched, irrelevant and inbox-clogging spam emails. Spamming inboxes \u2013 whether it\u2019s company email addresses, Twitter accounts or Facebook will win zero brownie points and alienate you from any further contact. Once credibility is lost, it\u2019s not coming back anytime soon, if ever.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hyperlinking and acknowledging external sources on your blog makes common sense.<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Thou shall not steal<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Stealing links to stories, news items, funky new websites and wonderful products from another source and passing them off as your own is a huge social media no-no. For example, on Twitter the re-tweet or RT function is an essential part of Twitequette, whilst hyperlinking and acknowledging external sources on your blog makes common sense. It engages and links you with the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Thou shall not covet your competitor\u2019s blog<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most unattractive and unprofessional social media rules to break is that of taking your competitor\u2019s content, services, products and online offerings \u2013 and copying it. And there\u2019s a lot of it about. After all, ideas and innovation do have a commercial value. Advice? Brainstorm and generate new products and services within your own creative Team instead. It\u2019s actually good fun too!<\/em><\/p>\n

If you sell directly to them via your social media channels, you\u2019ll lose them. Instantly.<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Thou shall not sell \u2013 anything, ever<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The whole point of social media is to attract and engage an audience \u2013 hopefully a significant one \u2013 who will then promote your business on your behalf. Your audience are NOT there to sell to. They are there because they value your content, insights and advice. If you sell directly to them via your social media channels, you\u2019ll lose them. Instantly. Play it smart \u2013 give, give, give. Never sell.<\/em><\/p>\n

5. Thou shall not kill<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nothing is quite as bad in social media-land as an account which is established and then sits there. Dead. No content. Nothing contributed. Setting up a social media space, such as a Facebook fan page, Twitter feed, or company blog, and then not adding content to it regularly is a sure-fire way of killing your social media credibility in front of a global audience. Add content. Add value. Just add!<\/em><\/p>\n

6. Thou shall not take the name of social media in vain<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember that despite the fact social media can seem quite light-hearted, harmless and fun, your inputs on social media networks are on the web for Time Immorium. So be careful what you post. Add value, contribute to the flow of conversation. Think carefully before you post anything, anywhere, anytime, which can be viewed as an attack or negative comment in your industry.<\/em><\/p>\n

7. Thou shall not commit adultery<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Social media adultery can be committed without thinking, but the effect and long-term damage is hard to recover from. Because many social media networks operate on an informality level which standard marketing does not recognise, the rules of engagement are still the same. Remain professional, polite and polished at all times. Remember your social media content is your legacy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Make sure you cater for your audience\u2019s requirements, needs and wants.<\/em><\/p>\n

8. Thou shall honour thy audience<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Simple really \u2013 without an audience, your social media inputs are little more than an exercise in commercial vanity. Without followers, readers, commentators and fans of your social media content, being there is effectively a waste of your marketing budget and time. Make sure you cater for your audience\u2019s requirements, needs and wants. It is, unfortunately, all about them. Always.<\/em><\/p>\n

9. Thou shall not forget the Sabbath Day<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So, you think social media is a Monday to Friday exercise? Afraid not. In our 24\/7, always-on, on-demand culture, social media plays an essential part of the online marketing mix, and your inputs need to cover the full seven days of the week. The good news is that you can pre-schedule posts, tweets and social media content using established tools to maintain an ever-present presence.<\/em><\/p>\n

10. Thou shall not worship any false Gods<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What this means, essentially, is that just because an individual or company has oodles of followers or friends on a social media network, it doesn\u2019t make them God. Challenge them, make them think, debate their content, get involved. This adds to your credibility and also hooks you into the audiences of the big players. Think of it as a subtle way of piggy-backing for exposure. Classic tactic.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a011. Thou shall not forget Commandments 1-10<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Simple really, this one: be mindful of Commandments 1-10. <\/em><\/p>\n

Bristol Editor is a newsroom-trained media blogger, who has worked on daily newspapers across the region, launched online business sites for publishers, edited business magazines, and more recently developed social media services for companies and individuals across the wider UK. <\/em><\/p>\n

See more of his work at the Bristol Editor blog. <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Via: socialmediatoday blog april 2010 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re a creative type, a business owner or an experienced regional marketer, the proliferation of social media recently can confuse, bemuse and excite in equal measure. It\u2019s no longer enough to send out monthly newsletters or email campaigns to talk to potential customers \u2013 now we\u2019re supposed to actually engage with them, talk to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,25],"tags":[51,218,113],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-algemeen-nieuws","category-hoofdstuk-12","tag-bloggies","tag-regels","tag-social"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.handboekonlinemarketing.nl\/marketing_boek\/online_marketing\/management\/leerboek\/handboek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}