Being new here in Atlanta I like to track local businesses such as bars, restaurants, shops and basically any local business in the area that is attempting to use social media in their day to day communications with their fans and followers. It’s Just my way of getting acquainted with the digital network in here in the south, also it’s the part social media geek in me that is curious as to how business are approaching social media for their marketing efforts.
I have made some discoveries over 60 days of listening; I have seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly. I am going to speak a bit about the ugly, quite frankly it’s irritating to me when I see it, and much like nails on a chalkboard I cringe at ill-timed social media messaging.
I will not call out any names, I’m not writing this to be damaging to any local Atlanta business so I will refrain from names, that and one of the worst examples of social media comes from my favorite bar. Sigh…
Timing of your social messaging is crucial and it’s quite simplistic when you think about it. We have come to an era where the first thing that we do once we wake up while we are still lying in our beds is to reach over and grab our phone to check our social networks. Don’t lie, I know you do. So riddle me this why at 8am would I ever want to see a tweet on how delicious your chicken fingers are? This is a poorly timed automated scheduled tweet from a local sports bar. Two quick points, first its 8 am, and the last thing on my mind is chicken fingers and second thing is that they are not even that good. I’ve had them, it was just aite for me dawg. (That was my best Randy Jackson)
I know these are automated tweet because they happen every morning at 8:04am and are published through a tool called Social Oomph. I also know that an agency runs their social media efforts, I didn’t look into my crystal ball to figure this one out I just notice the same businesses sending out the same tweets via the same publisher (Social Oomph) at the same time with the same ill-timed marketing message.
Be very aware when the time is appropriate to send out social your social messages, even the larger worldwide brands I have seen make this mistake with their social messaging. You just need to be conscious of your communications with your fans and followers and remember not to always be slamming marketing messages down your follower’s throats, “Have you tried our delicious Chicken Fingers?” not only is that message un-imaginative it’s just flat out lame, especially at 8am. Now if you are a coffee shop, its perfect timing to be talking about coffee but at 9pm, not so much
Know your audience and know when the right time is for them to think about your product or service. Don’t make assumptions and certainly do not let your agency make assumptions on your behalf. You wouldn’t tweet to a group of vegetarians that you serve half pound hamburgers would you?
And to whomever the agency is that is out there scheduling these tweets for all of their clients at the same time, come’on man! Follow Me: @AtlantaSnoop
10+ Years of SaaS 