With all the hype surrounding social media, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement and overestimate their capabilities. It’s also possible for one, inspired by the marketing successes of others, to dive into these channels and engage online communities too hastily without fully understanding their subtle, often unspoken, codes of conduct.
But what if social media sites collectively posted a gentle warning to the uninitiated or overzealous like the kind of disclaimer that keeps people from getting burned by a hot cup of coffee? What would it say?
If such a disclaimer did exist, I might suggest the following statement:
SOCIAL MEDIA DISCLAIMER
Social media sites do not claim to offer marketers a panacea, nor do they guarantee the successful engagement of online communities by an individual or group. No amount of social media “presence” will compensate for a bad product, lousy content, irrelevance or absenteeism online. Any behavior exhibited via these channels that resembles SPAM or otherwise expressly violates the rules of the community will not be tolerated. Activating social media accounts does not constitute a business strategy. Rather, social media are a range of tools that may be used to support a business strategy. Void where prohibited.
Such a disclaimer might dispel misconceptions about social media or prevent some from making very public mistakes.
What do you think? Did I miss anything? If you had to create your own social media disclaimer, what would it say?
Photo Credit: Badjonni
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