4 Social Media Mistakes People don’t Realize they’re Making

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As an active participant in social media there are a few mistakes that I see over and over again. The thing is, most people don’t even realize they’re making a mistake. Disclaimer: These are mistakes that I see most often, there are countless other common mistakes, but these are the least obvious.

1. Don’t add a contact on LinkedIn or a friend on Facebook without a personal message. It only takes a few seconds, but it will make a world of difference. When getting connected let the person know where you found them. “I saw your article on LinkedIn, thanks for the great advice.” Something simple is all it takes. Remember, social media is simply being social online. You wouldn’t become a friend with someone without first introducing yourself. Also, if you’re an active Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn user, add a link so they can connect with you across platforms.

2. When talking about a commonly discussed topic on Twitter be sure to include #hashtags. Adding hashtags not only makes you look like a savvy Twitter user, but it also serves a purpose. Hashtags are like tags on Flickr, they allow users to easily track activity on a given topic.  Check out http://hashtags.org to see a list of the most popular #hashtags.

3. This one may be up for debate, but I’m going to say it anyway, do not automatically import your tweets into Facebook. Okay so I know Facebook has made some changes recently to become more like Twitter and most of your tweets are suitable as Facebook status updates, but the fact remains that Facebook is not Twitter and therefore, it should be treated differently. Here is my reasoning behind this:

• The Facebook newsfeed is not set up for back and forth conversation. Twitter on the other hand, is. That’s why Twitter has an @reply page. Facebook is set up for discussion around a single comment, hence the “like” or “comment” button under each status update.
• People do not sit with Facebook open and follow the real time updates like they do on Twitter. It’s easier to do this on Twitter thanks to applications such as Tweetdeck.
• When you use someone’s name on Twitter, such as @joestampone1, it automatically acts as link. I hate nothing more than opening up Facebook on Friday and seeing #followfriday @danschawbel @missycaulk @nik_nik @cyberhomes @guykawasaki @garyvee @Ribeezie @tcar @kimwood @successfool. Although these are great people to follow, having them appear in my Facebook news feed is useless because they are not links to each persons Twitter page.
• Facebook status updates are not searchable.

If you have an interesting link to share or simply want to share what you’re up to, I think it’s worth taking the extra few minutes to update both your Twitter and Facebook accounts. I think your friends will really appreciate it. That being said, there are some major social media players who do automatically import their tweets to Facebook, this is simply my opinion and I’d love to hear what other people think on the subject. Keep in mind that this all depends on how you use Twitter. I personally have my friendfeed update into my profile. So if anyone wants to check out exactly what I’ve been up to online, here is it: http://profile.to/joestampone/. Update: This is now easier than ever with the new version of Tweetdeck. All you have to do is simply check or not check a box to determine if your tweet is also added to Facebook.

4. On LinkedIn do not post on a discussion saying “I’m looking to expand my network, accepting all requests.” By doing this you may gain a few connections, but what you should be looking for are relevant connections. These are the connections that may lead to mutually beneficial relationships in the future. On any social network, the number of followers doesn’t matter, it’s the number of people who listen to you. In Seth Godin’s book Tribes, he talks about this notion of 1000 true fans. “The leadership today is about 10 people bringing you 100 and 100 bringing you 1,000. When you have 1,000 true fans, then they’re the people who are going to turn it into a movement. Not you. Your job is to take care of and feed and nurture those 1,000 people, and those people need to go to their network of people who know them and trust them, who eat dinner with them, and bring them in. It’s not for you to somehow beam your message to strangers and convert them, because you can’t convert strangers anymore.”

This rings true in real estate as well. If you’re a small brokerage, make sure that those 100 or 1,000 people are satisfied, because they’re the ones that are going to vouch for you and lead to greater business.

I hope that everyone take this advice into consideration and as always, just join the conversation and add value. What social media mistakes do you see most often?

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