Are You Social Media Offender? Pet Peeves Revealed

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Are you a social media offender? You know who you are, right? Maybe you don't. There are many things in the course of our daily lives that we simply find so adorable we are shocked when others don't see the humor/cuteness in it. Case in point, no one in my family finds it adorable that Henrietta, my Diva Poodle, hops on the kitchen table when my back is turned. Regardless of how much I clean the table once I pick her up off from it, no one in the family finds it cute, sigh. 

When it comes to social media, though there are some things you really want to avoid as they are known pet peeves and here they are (in no particular order):

• Constant posting of items that have nothing to do with who you are or what your brand is. For example if I, a known kitchenphobe, start pinning recipes and pictures of cakes and pies… I am likely only trying to drive traffic to my site. If, however, I have decided to learn how to cook something more involved than a fried egg, I would have a reason for it.
• Posting only “buy me” updates. Buy my book, use my service, etc. you get the point. Social media is meant to be a back and forth dialogue.
• Tweeting constantly. Yes, I am thrilled that you had granola for breakfast and that Fifi chose a new spot to interact with Mother Nature. Again, if I follow you and know that Fifi was having intestinal issues, then yes, I’d like to know… other than that eewww no thanks. Tweeting dozens of times a day is exhausting for me to keep up with.
•  Posting cryptic song lyrics (hey, I don’t listen to music so I am always completely lost on those) and no, I don’t care enough to contact you to find out what it is.
• Posting cryptic status updates with the hopes that I will contact you to find out what it’s all about. See peeve above.
• Approaching me to retweet inane items. I am happy – thrilled – to RT if you have something worth RTing.
• Don’t tag me in a post that I am not in. Really, you’re posting a picture from your high school graduation and tag me simply to get your info on my page? Remember, it is easy to unfriend you!
• Don’t make me authenticate your status update or your blog post before I make a comment or share you. I don’t have the energy for that.
•  Don’t constantly schedule your status updates. I can see the little icon that says where your update came from and am not likely to comment if I know you’re not doing this live and in person. True, there are times when pre-scheduling only makes sense, but not every post.
•  If you post a status update that gets no response or shares or comments, don’t feel you need to share it again. People saw it, weren’t intrigued enough to comment or share so rethink the message.
•  As in life, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.
•  While I appreciate a good quote now and again, don’t post quotes to the exclusion of anything original. 

 

Comments

[Kristin Elliott- Doodie Pack]

Great Stuff Robbi,
I fully agree! I speak on the side of sending and receiving social media content.
It DOES make a difference.

[Robbi]

Thanks, Kristin! Some of the stuff I see is truly cringe-worthy!

[Carol Bryant]

LOVE this. Amen to all of it. Very good points for beginners and experts.

[Ingrid King]

Excellent points! Another pet peeve of mine: don't post a link to your blog post on my Facebook page. In fact, don't post anything you're trying to promote on my Facebook page. Ask me first, and I might say yes. Otherwise, it's just plain spam.

[dawn]

Automatic messages- when I comment on your blog, when I follow you on Twitter. They come across as impersonal, like you don't have time to really interact with me, but this message should do. I'd rather get nothing and imagine what could be...

I am confused about your first bullet point regarding Pinterest. My Pinterest account is more for me than my blog. If I'm pinning recipes (I don't cook either) or house decorating ideas( I don't even think you could call my house shabby chic), they aren't driving traffic to my site since the pins link to another site. Now if I started publishing posts about cooking on my pet blog so they could be pinned and bring traffic in, I have issues.

[caren gittleman]

I also think these are great points. To Ingrid's comment, I would like to add that I wish people would stop self-promoting in groups that were formed with the intent of being "SUPPORT" groups...to ask questions and share info, not to share every blog post that you have done since the beginning of time.

About Pinterest. I have VAST interests, not just cats and dogs. I post a ton of food items on my pinterest boards that are dedicated to food because I am also a foodie...I don't see anything wrong with that. I don't post about food on my blogs. I have pet blogs and they remain about pets.

[caren gittleman]

just wanted to add about the "give and take" and social media being an "exchange" I agree. I share so many posts that others do and in many cases I never see anything at all of mine shared. I do have posts that are worthy of sharing and it would be nice to see some return the favor. I'm not anyone's personal PR Rep :) (unless of course they want to pay me lol)

[Carol Bryant]

^5 Caren!

[Vicki Cook]

Good points Robbi, and I agree with many of the comments too. Especially about posting EVERY blog post on a group page. Something special - sure, but not every post. These groups were set up because of a common interest, not to personally promote your blog. That's what your Facebook page is for!

[2 Day Diet Lingzhi]

i cannot say the my superior result is since the 2 Day Diet Lingzhi http://my.opera.com/daydietcapsules/blog/, simply because i always performing exercise and have superior eating plan , but i do feel differnce right after taking the pill. and weight be reduced more quickly than usual, as well as it provides me additional energy. i genuinely like it.