[su_dropcap style=”flat”]H[/su_dropcap]AVE YOU EXPERIENCE THIS? Someone sends you a social media connection request. We all get them of course. Whenever I accept a connection, I send them a personalized message back to initiate a discussion and start the business relationship. I do not attempt to sell them on anything. They have come to me, and I would think there is a reason of some sort.
Something that really gets under my skin, is when someone sends me a social media connection request, I send them back a personal note, addressing them by name, and I receive a bulk message back, asking me to DO something for their business. They don’t know me, they have never interacted with me, they have not looked into what I can offer them, and they haven’t even addressed me by name. A “standard” bulk email asking me to do something for them.
Here is a recent example: Thanks for your follow! Please consider liking & sharing our Facebook Page: We’ll follow back ;-). If you think that I can help you with my (large) network on LinkedIn, invite me here Regards
This is a great way to repulse people! This is comparable to someone walking into your place of business, and asking you to stop what you are doing and come over to their “shop” and do something for them. It is so ridiculous, yet many who promote themselves as some sort of expert, practice this unacceptable behavior.
When I receive a message like this, my first reaction is how desperate they appear. It reduces their credibility, and destroys any trust I have in them. They haven’t even had the decency to use my name! How long does it take to type Hi ______, even if it is a bulk email message?
What is a better way to handle it? Stop handling your correspondence like a machine, and start being human! Tell me why you have reached out to connect with me. If you wouldn’t walk up to someone you just met in person, and ask them to do something for your business, then don’t do it on social media!
Another unacceptable behaviour is automatically adding people to groups. This is a great way to annoy people…they get automatically added and then get bombarded with messages from that group. Today I woke up to over a dozen messages from one person in a group like this. Absolutely send an invite if you feel they would benefit and be a good addition to a group, but do not automatically add them.
Overposting. No one wants to see their feeds full of your posts. Ask yourself if you would like to check your feeds and see 15 posts from the same person? It is a great way to get “unfollowed”.
Email Lists – Do not automatically add people to your email list and start sending them bulk emails without their consent. People should be opting in, because they want to receive info from you. Otherwise you are going to tick people off and destroy any hope of doing business.
Most of this is common sense, however, it is shocking how many people are not using common sense on social media. Be professional, it will take you further than any of these tactics.
