Web marketing thoughts for small businesses

I read an article a few days ago by my new favorite blogger, John who writes over at human3rror.com. In the article John talked about a new service called Magpie. Magpie pays Twitter users to use their account as an advertising platform. Magpie regularly sends out advertisements through those individual’s Twitter accounts. In return the individuals earn a few extras dollars a month.

Used Car Dealership

What really caught my eye in John’s blog article was his last sentence: “Do as you please. [But] if I do see an advertisement, expect the email [letting you know I stopped following you on Twitter]. Expect it.” Do you think John is the only person who feels this way? Nope.

I have heard this saying a lot: “social media communities (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) are remarkably skilled at ratting out advertisers and inauthentic participation, so this approach is likely to backfire and cause harm to a brand and the user. (Paraphrased from the free ebook The New Rules of Viral Marketing by David Meerman Scott)

The lesson here is simple: the quickest way to lose friends and alienate yourself amongst the social-side of the web is to just go out and sell, sell, sell. This warning goes for people who just want to earn a little cash on the side by tweeting advertisements. It also goes out to people who only use blogs, Facebook, Digg, etc. to sell themselves.

Rather, go out and participate in social media sites. Your passion should shine through your honesty and transparency when participating. If you write a business blog then publish content that is helpful, useful, or fun for readers and avoid the temptation to simply use it as a giant, wordy billboard. Be passionate about what you write and how you participate, but please, please, please leave the constant sales pitches to your local used car dealership.

Photo courtesy of SqueakyMarmot

Tags: social media, twitter, web marketing