I hate social media marketing. It gets on my nerves because it’s fake. It’s a bunch of impostors crashing our party, trying to turn a buck. Think of it like the friend or family member at a social gathering who’s trying to push a product on anyone he can corner. It’s out of context and it certainly isn’t welcome.
Social media is a subset of the web. It defines the types of sites that allow people to socially interact with one another. And just like at a party with friends, the same social etiquette applies online. The guy pushing his fantastic pyramid scheme isn’t welcome.
On the flip-side, a lot of business can get done among friends and acquaintances–even strangers, at a social gathering. You could be sitting with a bunch of people and find out that the person next to you makes websites, and “hey, I need a website, let’s talk!”
I also hate “viral marketing” because it too is fake. You don’t walk into a room and say, “hey guys, you have to hear this joke, it’s the best joke you’ve ever heard! It’s so awesome you’re going to tell all your friends about it, and they’re going to tell their friends, until my whole target demo… err… everyone hears it!” If you’ve ever found yourself in that awkward situation you’ll know that the joke usually sucks.
On the other hand, if you tell someone a joke just because you find it funny–and it makes sense to do so in the social setting you find yourself in–and they find it funny, they immediately want to tell their friends. That’s natural. That’s viral.
So basically, I hate social media and viral marketing because it’s fake, it’s forced and it’s usually perpetrated by people who wouldn’t spend more than a minute of their personal time on the sites their invading.★