I have written many articles on this blog about the huge benefits of using social media in marketing. So please don’t mistake this article as some type of put-down for social media. It is not. I believe that social media has leveled the playing field to some degree between big business and small business. Nonetheless, as with many great things, it can sometimes go wrong. A recent experience of mine illustrates this point so dramatically that I decided to use it as an example later on in this article.
If you have been involved in social media for any time at all, you no doubt are involved in some professional and social “groups” that have common interests to your own. LinkedIn has well over 600,000 groups, Google over 4 million and Yahoo appears to have over 17 million groups. With this many groups available, you are bound to find many that share your interests. Actually, I even started a couple of groups of my own.
Group members are people from all walks of life that share a common interest (the theme of the group). Some are men and some are women; some may be white collar while some are blue collar; some may be executives while others hold positions in the rank and file; some live in different cities and even countries; and in most cases, they are as different as they are the same. Most are social media friendly and therefore well aware of the rules and etiquette. Others are not.
Occasionally, I see people who are blatantly advertising much like you would see on Craig’s List. Most of these folks don’t know better or they wouldn’t do it as it really doesn’t work with social media. Most all group members view promotion for profit as “spamming” and it is really a turn off. Therefore, it is very ineffective and actually harms your reputation within the group. I wrote about this in “Using Social Networks for Marketing.”
Then there are those who take an extreme position at the other end of the spectrum. These well meaning (but misguided) and self-appointed “social media watch dogs” accuse others of “spamming” if they post a discussion that does not relate specifically to the core interest of the group. This is so ridiculous when you think about it. While the impetus for forming a social networking group is a common interest that is shared by members, it doesn’t mean that members aren’t interested in other things.
The notion of limiting or “censoring” group discussions to make sure they never deviate from the one common interest of the group is counterproductive to the purpose of social media. To me, one of the most powerful and desirable outcomes of social media is the way it brings people together around common interests and creates a forum for them to expand their knowledge, skills, and experience far beyond where it would be if they had not participated. When group owners or members attempt to place limits on what is being discussed in groups, it aborts this outcome. It can also lead to stagnation or, worse, a form of “ideological inbreeding”.
I had an experience recently that provides a perfect example of this problem. As a serial entrepreneur, business owner, and SCORE counselor, I like to write, publish, and post articles on this blog that support the success of the small business community. Because I am a member of 50 LinkedIn groups (the maximum allowed), I post my articles, as well any other material I feel may be of value on a regular basis.
On occasion, a group member will move my discussions to “jobs” by mistake. On another occasion, a group member intentionally moved them to “jobs” because, in their mind, they felt justified in “protecting” the group from ideas that were not specifically related to the core interest of the group. One group member was apparently so inflamed with righteous fervor that they embarked on a quest to keep the sanctity of the group “pure” and moved every single one of the articles I had ever posted in that group. This effort must have taken them quite a bit of time as I have written, published and posted over a hundred articles. Eventually, the group manager got involved and sent an email to all members threatening to boot anyone who behaved the way that group member did, as it was not in the best interest of the group.
By far, the most dramatic example of a “social media vigilante” that I have encountered so far was someone who not only accused me of “spamming” but resorted to shame and humiliation by calling me names and questioning how I could ever hope to be employed again with such a flawed character. Was this individual well intentioned? Probably. Did this individual have an impact? Probably. Did the 35,000 members of this group get any value from a discussion where one of their members insulted and assassinated the character of another member? Probably not.
Another common situation in social media where the wheels fall off is on LinkedIn when people refuse to connect with people they don’t know. This behavior puzzles me because, once again, it flies in the face of what I believe is the fundamental purpose of LinkedIn. First, there are many ways that people who know each other can connect personally and professionally other than LinkedIn. If you know someone well enough, you probably already have access to their phone number, address, and email. The biggest advantage of LinkedIn is that it can help you expand your professional network. So, it makes absolutely no sense to me to refuse to connect with someone because you don’t know them! For more information you may want to read the post, “LinkedIn, The New Business Card Exchange?”
Now, I want to make sure that my point is understood. I am not suggesting that there should be no control over the type of discussions people post in LinkedIn groups or that all invitations should be accepted. The point I am making is that social media is not the place for “exclusion”, “elitism” or a “private club” mentality. To use a musical metaphor, social media is not a classical piece of music where a conductor leads musicians to play notes that have already been written, as it is a jam session where jazz musicians improvise and collaborate to create something that never existed before.
What experiences have you had where social media has gone wrong? I would love to hear from you!
If you would like to contact me, you can do so by visiting my LinkedIn page or emailing me at mike.clough@bestbizpractices.org.
Posted by: Mike Clough
