You could be "that guy" and not even know it. By that guy, I mean the one who’s been spamming all their connections thinking that you were providing a great service to your followers. You very well might have fantastic deals and offers but you need more tact with your social media strategy than simply tweeting off the coupon catalog of the week. There is a massive difference between intelligent comment in a blog and straight up spam. Do you know where you fall on the spectrum?
Most people will welcome comments and posts that stimulate conversation or hold some educational value, but you will drive your audience further away if you start (and continue) to spam. If you aren’t sure if you are a spammer or not, here are some black and white examples of social media spamming to avoid at all costs:
1. You are being too promotional. You might think that scouring websites, forums, Facebook groups and other online conversations to post the same promotional comment with a link to your squeeze page is a great idea. I don’t know about you but I have never clicked an ad that says "See How You Can Make $1000 a DAY ON TWITTER NOW!" Not only do I sincerely question your ability to make money online with this strategy but there is no chance I or anyone else will click it and buy your product.
So is it acceptable to post your sales page for a product on a forum that seems relevant to your industry? Let me say this…you will get much more leverage with the readers and moderators if you actually post useful information rather than an advertisement!
2. You are being too promotional. Rather than name dropping your new product, website or business constantly, try to provide great solutions to people’s problems to increase your "expert" status and organically draw people to your website.
Most social media sites and forums give the option to click on a bio or profile associated with your post, so put your information there instead of in the comment section but double check to ensure you are always following the rules and regulations of that particular site so that you don’t get deleted once you post something. If you’re posting on a forum, most of them don’t allow link posting for this very reason.
3. You are being too promotional. You might be that person who abides by the rules for a bit until you start dropping those one-liners that get you in trouble. "Hey guys, if you’re then 1000th visitor to my site, you’ll win an iPad! Hurry up and go now!" Not cool.
Don’t waste hard earned credibility you might have gained on a forum or with these kinds of social media spamming practices. You will just end up alienating all the people who started to read your posts and begin to trust you. Be sincere and be real!