The Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media Marketing by @BBorowicz

1. Lust-
If you intensely desire money, fame and power from your social media when you first start off, you have a lust problem.

Unless you are the President of the United States or a famous musician, just being on social media will not get you followers, friends, likes, retweets, etc. The most successful brands on social media are the ones who provide consistent content to their audience (or lack thereof) and understand that it will likely not go viral overnight. The more consistent and valuable your content is to your audience and potential audience, the easier it is for them to find you and then want to follow your brand.

2. Gluttony-
If you consume all of the latest social media platforms without first analyzing your audience and their needs, you have a gluttony problem.

Brands are not meant to be on ALL social media platforms. Certain products and services are better represented on certain platforms over others. Find the social media platform where your brand can really tell a story. For instance, if the products and/or services you offer allow for some great visuals, utilize platforms such as Pinterest or Instagram. Once you have found the right platform(s) for your brand, take the time to utilize that platform correctly and then measure your success.

3. Greed-
If you have an inordinate desire to only promote your brand without any other content, you have a greed problem.

Social media marketing is not about advertising or merely promoting your brand. Social media marketing is about building a relationship with your audience. A common value-to-sales ratio for social media marketing is often called the “80/20 Rule.” Offer your customers valuable, education-based marketing that relates to THEM 80% of the time while promoting your brand only 20%. This provides your customers the information they need to build trust and then reminds them that you have a product or service to help alleviate the problem they have.

4. Sloth-
If you are slow to respond to your audience, you have a sloth problem.

A huge part of social media marketing these days falls in customer service. Social media gives customers a voice that they have not had before. With social media, customers are able to quickly and easily access the brands they love (or hate) to provide them with feedback and questions. If your customers are engaging with you and you are not engaging back, it sets the stage for that consumer to potentially feel abandoned or like your brand doesn’t truly care about their audience. Both positive and negative interactions require some kind of response from brands on social media, whether it is publicly or in a private message to assure that customer that you are addressing their feedback appropriately.

5. Wrath-
If you spam your audience with content that they don’t care about, your customers will have a wrath problem.

Going back to the 80/20 Rule, brands must make sure that they are addressing their audience’s wants and needs on social media. Nobody wants to be advertised to 100% of the time. Brands can make sure their audience cares about what they have to say by providing them with valuable content that they can use to help them with their problem that your product or service is addressing or even with a cute cat video to give them a laugh for the day. (Note: Although cat videos may seem awesome, they are surprisingly not always appropriate for your audience.) Your brand must find a way to engage with your consumers and potential customers without constantly promoting and ultimately making them hit the “unfollow” button.

6. Envy-
If you are jealous of another brand’s social media presence but doing nothing to improve your own, you have an envy problem.

It’s true. Some brands have fantastic social media presences. Their content seems to go viral overnight and they have a bajillion and two followers that comment on every status they ever post. These brands have this kind of following for three reasons. The first is they understand their audience. The second is that they know which social media platforms will best tell their story. The third is that they make sure to provide consistent and valuable content that their consumers can engage with. If you’re not sure about these answers for your brand, don’t be afraid to test out options and ask for help. Try different platforms and different types of messaging and media until something starts to gain traction. Once you have that traction, run with it! If you are still having problems, ask for help. (Hint: Sometimes this help will come from your competitors. Look to see what they are doing right… and then do it better!)

7. Pride-
If you believe your brand is the best and refuse to listen your customer feedback, you have a pride problem.

Social media is all about engagement and developing a relationship with your audience. In order to make your brand better both on social media and as a business, you must accept that your customers have feedback for you and it is not always positive. Take each piece of feedback and see how it can potentially help improve your presence and business. Having too much pride in your company and not accepting the bad that you will undoubtedly see at some point, will ultimately lead to a social media meltdown (my favorite was Amy’s Baking Company) and nobody wants that.

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Brittney Borowicz is an integrated marketing professional with a strong communications background specializing in journalism, public relations and social media. Originally from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Brittney has spent the past few years working with entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Chicagoland area to enhance their marketing and social media efforts.

Prior to her current role as the Marketing Manager for an embedded networking company, Brittney realized her affinity for all things media and marketing while working in radio and television and as a professional presenter. Later, she began working at a couple of small marketing agencies in Chicago as a Public Relations and Sales Director and Account Manager, which required her to be well-versed in coordinating specialized public and media relations strategies, creative marketing initiatives and cohesive sales process implementations.

As a strong believer in intimate consumer/brand involvement, Brittney helps her clients create content that engages and educates brand audiences while establishing each individual or company as a thought leader in their industry.

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Brittney Borowicz

Brittney Borowicz is an integrated marketing professional with a strong communications background specializing in journalism, public relations and social media. Originally from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Brittney has spent the past few years working with entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Chicagoland area to enhance their marketing and social media efforts.

Prior to her current role as the Marketing Manager for an embedded networking company, Brittney realized her affinity for all things media and marketing while working in radio and television and as a professional presenter. Later, she began working at a couple of small marketing agencies in Chicago as a Public Relations and Sales Director and Account Manager, which required her to be well-versed in coordinating specialized public and media relations strategies, creative marketing initiatives and cohesive sales process implementations.

As a strong believer in intimate consumer/brand involvement, Brittney helps her clients create content that engages and educates brand audiences while establishing each individual or company as a thought leader in their industry.