subject: Are Companies Ruining The Social Media Experience? [print this page] Because social media are really gaining popularity these days attracting hundreds and millions of people worldwide, it cannot be avoided that companies are also using them to reach the public to sell to them, communicate with them, and other uses. There are already people that have announced the death of social media with the onslaught of online marketers ruining the social media experience. Are companies really ruining the social media experience? There are companies that do. There are companies that don't. The thing is they have as much right to use and take advantage of social media as everyone else. Everyone has the right to experience social media.
If you are a company that uses social media, make sure you do not ruin the social experience for others. People are there to connect and to communicate with others. Make sure that when you use social media, that you really provide information that are useful to others if you cannot really form strong relationships and build bonds with them. Don't be there to just sell. Do not be there just to take information. Make sure that you are providing value. Making sure that you are contributing to your network online will help you build a good reputation. It will also allow you to gain long-term social media success. You can provide promos, discounts, freebies, valuable information, good customer service and other things that are valuable to people. If you contribute value to the network then you are not ruining the social media experience for many and in fact making the experience useful for them. If you use social media to just hard sell and to talk about nothing else but your company and your products then people will not appreciate how you use social media. The best way for you to use social media is of course if you use it to connect with clients. You can do this by being active in social media and really using them to communicate with the public.
Make sure that your company is not the kind of company that abuses social media and makes social media not fun for everyone. You also have to respect why other people are using social media and not spam them or make them uncomfortable with their use of social media. Follow good internet etiquette always and make sure that you provide value online. Make sure that you contribute to what makes social media a great business tool.
