Social Media Etiquette & Self-Promotion
On a local mama Facebook group, we recently debated how much unsolicited advertising from members is too much. Some felt comfortable having no rules while others felt bombarded. Some, like myself, wanted limits. While I loved hearing about fellow mamas businesses, and I wanted to support them, and likewise, I want to be supported, I felt uneasy. I clearly love social media and email marketing, and I want to support my friends and neighbors, but I felt like an etiquette line had been crossed. In a forum where we previously discussed child development, school issues and the latest tummy bug, I became a potential customer and fellow members could market to me as much as they wanted, whenever they wanted, any product or service they wanted. Full disclosure: I have marketed a Bone Marrow Donor Drive in the group, and I did try to recruit mamas to join our fitness groups, so I’m not completely innocent here. But, in a post CAN-SPAM, double-opt-in world, what’s the etiquette? Does quantity resonate over quality and a qualified audience? Many marketers operate in a “best practices” world, while still creating new rules and bending others, but the basic etiquette of sales and marketing still apply. In my opinion, these include, but are not limited to . . .
1. "Don’t turn into Human Spam” (Austin Kleon, “Show Your Work!")
2. Know, respect and don’t abuse your audience.
3. While self-promotion is not all bad (hello, I’m a marketer, I love self-promotion!), too much tooting of your own horn gets a little, well, you know… stinky.
Stay tuned for more social media and marketing rules of etiquette and when break them.