Now I'm not a fan of putting the word "tactic" in the same sentence as the word "social", for obvious reasons. However, this post is targeting a very specific social business "no-no" of mine, so we'll let this slide for one article.
Recently I've noticed a trend pop up on Twitter, that generally follows this pattern: "Hi followers, please like our Facebook page."
So what's wrong with this, why does it bother me, and what should I do instead? Here goes:
What's wrong with this?
1) "Hi followers", is way too general. You've heard of the terms "target audience" and "customer profiles" haven't you? Firstly, you cannot add value to everyones social/online activity, so don't reach out to (more like shout at) everyone. This is called "mass marketing" or "interruption marketing", and people don't like it. Secondly, your time is precious, therefore why waste it on "hit-and-hope" social engagement?
2) "Please like our Facebook page." My first point here, when I see this, is to scream the word/question "WHY!?!?!?!" at my screen. Why should I like your page, what's in it for me? Why should I leave Twitter (where I have made a conscious effort to spend my time, in case you haven't noticed - oh wait, you haven't) to do this?
3) You sound pathetic. People like other people/brands/ideas/etc for reasons... but first they have to be made aware of that reason in some way or another. By begging for "likes" it sends out the message that your business cannot gain the support or social presence on its own merits, so you have to beg. You and your business are better than that. Respect yourself more, and respect those that you're trying to reach more.
Why it bothers me so much:
1) You are better than this. You have started your business because you're passionate, ambitious, and hard working. So why ruin this reputation with lacklustre social engagement?
2) Your customers and other online community members deserve better. Imagine if I came round to your office everyday, came up to your desk and said the words, "please like me". What would your reaction be? ....exactly.
3) It does not benefit your business one iota! If you're that bothered about the relatively insignificant "Facebook likes" metric, please just shut up and buy some Facebook fans. It's a pointless thing to do, but at least the rest of us won't have to hear your begging.
4) This is my biggest annoyance on the topic, but it may only relate to a select few. Is your businesses social media usage and social engagement outsourced? If it is, and this "tactic" is taking place, that "expert" you hired is at best only achieving zero results, but at worst they are damaging your businesses reputation.
What to do instead:
1) Work out who your target audience are, and create customer profiles. Find where these people like to spend their time online... do NOT try and force them elsewhere!
2) Understand their needs, desires, troubles, questions, behaviour etc. Then match to these customer profiles how you can help them... how you can add value to their lives through social engagement.
3) Be a bit more social and personal! Find one of your customers/prospects and see how you could possibly help them. Reach out to them personally. Then they really will "like" your business, and whats more, you may find that other people have seen the advice you've given and it has benefitted them, so hey presto you now have more quality "likes"!! Wow! In fact you'll have more than a measly "like" you'll have one or more customers/advocates...and these affect the bottom line more than a "like"!!
I hope this helps shed some light on why this "Twitter tactic trend" is pointless, and must stop? If you see any social profile that insists on using this tactic, please either tell them why it's pointless or point them in the direction of this article. Thanks for reading, you're awesome!
Oh and one more thing... if you do Tweet asking people to "like" your Facebook page, make sure when they get to your page it doesn't consist only of "Please follow us on Twitter" messages!! That's just taking the p**s. ;)