THE “DOG LICKING ITSELF” SCHOOL OF SOCIAL MEDIA
It seems like every week we hear about the next big thing: a new social network, or online service, or application that will change the way we interact with our audiences. A lot of us make the same mistake and immediately click through to our new favorite tool. We enter our credentials, pick a snappy profile pic and username, cut and paste the same biographical info we use on other services, upload some media, announce our new presence on all the OTHER networks… and then sit back and wait for friends and followers to find us.
In the world of social media, more isn’t always better. It’s hard to figure out just where to spend our time and energy, especially when our efforts rarely produce any instantly quantifiable results. When I first started trying to build my band’s online presence and I sized up all the options, I subscribed to what I now think of as the “Dog Licking Itself” approach: if it’s free, and easy, and produces no noticeable negative consequences, well…. why not?
The longer I’ve been doing this, the more I’ve grown to understand that there ARE negative
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
consequences to this all-inclusive social-media-love-fest way of thinking. We all have only so much time in our day, and unless we’re really lucky (or really good at it) updating social networks doesn’t pay the bills. Setting up accounts everywhere you can splash an avatar may seem like a no-brainer, but there’s one major snag: if your content isn’t current and dynamic, it isn’t exciting. And if your profile or site doesn’t inspire excitement in the people who find it, they won’t come back.
The strength of new media is its interactivity. Fans get excited about your band, or your product, or your ideas, but in order to KEEP them excited, you have to provide them with content. Even if you’re not personally conversing with people on your site or profile, frequent updates and new content will give your audience the impression that you care about communicating with them, and that you feel they deserve your attention.
Consider this scenario: you have gone to the effort of setting up accounts on all the major networking platforms, but you’ve found that Facebook is really much more user-friendly and feature rich than the others, so you have gradually stopped updating your other profiles and you’re really focusing on building your Facebook following.
A potential fan hears about you somehow (radio, blogs, reviews, whatever). They are interested enough to search for you online. They type your name into their favorite search engine, and BANG – there you are! The first link takes them to your MySpace page.
Upon clicking through to your profile, they notice that although there is some content there, YOU haven’t logged in for a few months. Your last blog post is talking about 4th of July celebrations, and it’s now early December. The last comment from a fan is six months old. They poke around, and then navigate back to their search results.
Second on the list is your profile on LinkedIn. This one’s even worse – you DO have a profile, but that’s all – from the looks of things, you’ve NEVER updated anything here. You only have a few dozen fans and it’s obvious the profile is in a coma.
But…. lunch break is over, and your disappointed potential fan hasn’t got time to keep searching. Maybe they’ll try again later – or maybe not. Perhaps they’ll find your beautifully moderated and content-rich Facebook Page and you’ll have a brand-new hardcore fan… or maybe you’ll never even know how close they came to joining your circle.
This is the oft-overlooked danger of jumping into the world of social networks with both feet. Most people don’t stop to consider it, but you’re essentially creating a new website associated with your brand EVERY TIME YOU CREATE A PROFILE. Think of all the time and money we spend trying to keep our homepages fresh and exciting. Does it make sense to clutter up search engines with results that won’t hold a user’s interest? Isn’t it better to figure out where your target demographics are most likely to congregate, and focus your efforts there?
If you’re determined to spread yourself as far and wide as possible online, here’s my advice (for what it’s worth):
- Use services like Ping.fm to update ALL your social networks at once – send photos from your phone, ask questions, keep people interested.
- Musicians: make sure you have a service like ArtistData set up so that you can automate as much content as possible: tour dates, blog updates, photo galleries etc. This way, even if you can’t take the time to get personally involved in EVERY network in which you choose to participate as frequently as you’d like, you won’t be left with a bunch of zombie profiles and your presence online will be fresh and dynamic – however someone might find you.
- Before setting up a new social network, do a little research. Who is using this service? What advantages does it offer over other, more established networks? How much time will you need to spend every week to keep this new profile active and interactive? It’s better to skip a network you won’t use than to let it fall by the wayside and decompose.
- Make bookmarks for all your sites, and make sure you have a way to remember all the logins and passwords. I keep all my social networking bookmarks in the bookmark bar of my browser AND pinned to my start page. It’s easier to remember to update a profile when it’s constantly reminding you of its existence.
- Don’t be afraid to close a profile. If it’s not working, you’re not networking.
And always remember the lesson of the overzealous dog: just because you can, doesn’t mean it’s a great idea… and never forget that you’re IN PUBLIC.
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Brian,
Long before all the media blitz,telagraph, telephone ,telegram,television, etc, there was teleperson (word of mouth)and it is still a very powerful tool, but unmeasurable. I wonder how many people found out about ETH or facebook from friends.
I saw ETH in person in Greensburg, Pa a couple of years ago and have created more than a dozen fans by word and they others.I’ll bet at least half of the fans find you this way, not by searching web sites. That being said,the web sites still keep up the interest with news and personal commentary and keeps us in touch. And you do a very good job of that.
E Roy Ward
While services like Ping.fm are certainly invaluable for saving time and saving face on all of one’s social sites, there is a suggestion to be made, if I may play Devil’s Advocate. To the average reader, yes, it does appear that one is taking the time to stay on top of all their updates, and yes, it can become apparent that it is being done with a broad brush. This is completely fine if your reader prefers to just check Facebook over Twitter, or what have you, to get their update and keep on trucking. However, if you are going to utilize said brush, it would be wise to make sure that you have your notifications set up to be aware of contact *from* your readers. Sure, a lot of what you would get may be random comments (and hopefully accolades) that don’t necessarily require a response, but it could become very frustrating if your new follower is making valid inquiries to learn more about you but is never getting a reply. I’ve seen sites where there are multiple people asking varied questions with no answer, and it makes it plain as day that while the owner is updating, they are not periodically perusing said site. To me, at least, this neglect, if left unchecked, can eventually scream “abandoned” almost as loud as if there were no activity whatsoever, and possibly be a turnoff for the reader. It may reek of the owner having too much of a me-complex while seemingly not caring about what is happening on the receiving end.
Of course, having to check all of the replies could have you back to square one when it comes to taking time to individually check each site, but I believe there are platforms out there that allow you to pool your responses, as well. Perhaps, if the task still seems overwhelming, someone can be designated to monitor incoming communication and keep an eye on what requires attention. Maybe there’s a site of yours out there that has someone blasting you on a regular basis… Whether the readers buy into it or not, the activity is a turnoff to those readers and simultaneously is doing a disservice to your reputation, all unbeknownst to you… Something that could be kept in check with a little drive by every once in a while.
All this said, I’d like to point out that your band is certainly an exception. You have done a fantastic job of not only personally updating your fan base on a regular basis, but personally making the connections that allow that base to branch out and really feel like they are part of your team. This, of course, creates a sort of brand loyalty, full of listeners who will practically do whatever you ask them to to lend a hand in your promotion. It all boils down to the basic golden rule of running a business – Excellent customer service is the key to success. For any artist in any medium, if you are attempting anything more than producing work for a hobby, you are essentially running a business. Take the time to make it worth your while.
Keep up the great work. I look forward to reading more.
Absolutely Roy. There’s no substitute for the power of word-of-mouth. I know that I personally am MUCH more likely to take a recommendation from a friend than an ad or website. That’s part of the reason social networking platforms can be such a powerful sales tool: if you can make your audience feel more like “friends” than customers, they’ll be more receptive to your recommendations – even if you’re just “recommending” your own products!
Agreed, Tina. These platforms are at their strongest when they’re SOCIAL networks – when you’re actually interacting. The more you can do to streamline your online presence towards whichever networks you’re really active on, the better.
But it’s like I said – you’re better off avoiding some platforms completely than signing up and letting them decay. A stalled profile can hurt you more than help you, and you’ve given a few more reasons for sure!
Absolutely Roy. There’s no substitute for the power of word-of-mouth. I know that I personally am MUCH more likely to take a recommendation from a friend than an ad or website. That’s part of the reason social networking platforms can be such a powerful sales tool: if you can make your audience feel more like “friends” than customers, they’ll be more receptive to your recommendations – even if you’re just “recommending” your own products!