Permission Mis-Step: A Case Study…
A Social Networker’s Greatest Compliment is when you are told:
“There’s someone I think you should meet.”
Two weeks ago, Joe virtually introduced me to Eric.
We chatted on the phone and connected via LinkedIn.
Good.
As it should be.
Two days later, I get a note from Eric via LinkedIn:
It read:
Subject: How good are your salespeople at qualifying leads?
Problem.
Uh, Eric, we just chatted. You know I work for myself. That means I don’t have any salespeople.
I was irritated.
More, I consciously realized that in that moment, the value of Eric’s micro-brand had dropped. It wasn’t 0, but it had dropped.
His message violated the Permission Code of Internet Marketing.
It was not
- relevant
- personal
- anticipated
Nor, did it start a conversation. Eric was simply using LinkedIn to broadcast a message through another channel.
I like Eric and I think he’s still trying to figure the whole social media thing out, but it’s important, as you think about your micro-brand and how to grow it online to stay relevant.
And Brand is all about credibility.
Otherwise, you run the risk of becoming like Diana, a de-friended Facebooker.
Not where you want to be.
BTW, names were changed.
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Comments
Shelley said on 9.16.2008 at 12:12 PM
Along the same lines of "unsolicited messages" via social media communities, I have another question for you. I recently joined Twitter, and within a day or two, a few random people who I didn't know were "following" me. Why is a stranger (some of whom have empty profile pages) "following" me. Are they sales people who will blast me with random marketing messages? I've been blocking any "followers" I can't personally identify, but I am curious what the motivation is for people to attach themselves to my account (which I am not really using yet anyway save for a test posting or two).
jeremy said on 9.17.2008 at 12:33 AM
On Twitter, I wouldn't worry about people following you. they may be interested in your service. NEVER block people from following you. You don't have to follow them back. You WANT people to follow you, they are giving you permission to communicate to them.
Gadi said on 9.17.2008 at 11:03 AM
Many people have it set up to follow who follows you. Some people will follow you so you automatically follow them for some personal gain.