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Oops! Social Media Mistakes

28 May 2009 | austin social media events,social-media | 1 Comment

oopsOver the last few years I have attended a lot of social media conferences, and how I wish I’d been able to hear the kind of information shared by the panel at our recent New Media Collaborative.

In putting together the event, we thought it would be valuable to share with attendees, most of whom were either brand new to social media or just beginning. the things we wish WE had learned when we were just starting out. I had the opportunity to sit in the audience and just listen, and even for someone who lives and breathes this stuff, I learned something from the panel members.

Here are a few highlights:

Sheila Scarborough wished that she had started her very popular Family Travel blog on her own domain name. She has a good working relationship with BootsnAll but does not own her own content, and all the SEO benefit of her large readership does not help her own domain.

Sherry Lowry told how she joined MySpace early on but then quit when the spammers made using the service a big pain. The bad experience with MySpace caused her to be late adopting Facebook and Twitter. Now she feels she is having to make up for lost time.

Kim Haynes Hollenshead talked about using social media from the perspective of a recruiter. She advised using your real name as your user name across all social networks, and related the complications that arise from having to change user names to be consistent. Of course, she turned around and got married that same weekend and had to change names again. (But she’d probably say that change was worth it!)

Heather Strout also talked about the importance of consistent user names across networks and owning your own content. In Heather’s case, blogging was part of her job duties. When she was suddenly laid off this year, her social media portfolio was primarily tied to her employer. She had to scramble to populate her personal blog with quality content and build an audience.

Many thanks to these panelists who transparently shared their mistakes in order to help others avoid them. It provided a level of authenticity and trust that fostered a great discussion time with the attendees.

What are some of the mistakes you’ve made in your social media journey? Share them in the comments, and you’ll help and inspire readers.

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1 Comment for this entry

  • Michelle / chelpixie
    May 28th, 2009 on 12:42 pm

    Heather’s point is one I’d seek to emphasize, especially to college students graduation or on the verge. Well obviously it goes for anyone who has an employer and isn’t their own boss.

    Start a blog with your own content, even if you are employed elsewhere. It doesn’t have to be huge at first, just a simple wordpress.com blog works. Share your thoughts on what you are passionate here, even if you’re blogging for your employer too.

    This one is a little close to my heart especially when talking with college students or soon to be marketing graduates. Encouraging them to start now helps them later on.

    My own mistake? Sharing an entirely too emotional time (brief period of approx. a week) and experience on Twitter. I’m not afraid to be real and public but it was more open than I should have been while feeling that upset and angry. Always remember that Google sees all. While the experience is a) still real and b) a part of my life, some things are better left in your heart and mind.

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