In the last week, 2 people have gone onto my Facebook Pages – Debra Russell and Artists Marketing & Business Academy – and posted that I should check out their Facebook Page or ReverbNation Page. And my first reaction was – wow, that’s rude. But then I thought to myself – what if it’s not? What if, in the world of Social Media, that would be OK? So, I went on my profile and asked the question, and the unanimous response was – yes, that’s just rude.
Think about it this way – if you were a store owner looking for a way to promote your store, would you go into someone else’s store (even if they weren’t in direct competition with you) and hand out flyers inviting people to your store? Without at the very least asking permission? I mean, wouldn’t that just be rude?
So, why do people think it’s OK to do that on my Facebook Page – which is the online equivalent of a storefront?
There are two marketing principles that apply:
- If you wouldn’t do it in the real world, don’t do it online.
- People buy from the people they know, like and trust.
So use social media to initiate, create and deepen your relationships with your prospects, customers, clients and colleagues. It’s called relationship marketing. Sure, get to know me, even invite me to like your page. I’m easy to contact on Facebook – I allow n0n-friends to message me. But don’t do it by advertising on my page. That’s just rude.
