Read the full article on Social Media Today
If you hired a business to do anything for you, let's say to come in and clean your office; if they told you that they were just going to make your office appear as though it were clean to everyone else outside of your company, while not actually doing the job, you would laugh in their face. Who can honestly justify trying to take shortcuts for mere appearances? Well unfortunately a large portion of social campaigns and, "social media experts," are selling just that, a product which doesn't actually connect with users online and simply maintains the appearance of engagement. Social media marketing has been getting a bad rap lately because of the way it is being utilized, not the medium itself. If done correctly, people can engage with companies and traffic can again become relevant without spamming or buying fake followers.
"For those who sell things online, social media seems like any other game of Monopoly; a vast community of users with property for sale that you want to occupy with your product. Unfortunately though, the easiest way with social media marketing is the wrong approach and effectively gaming the system is equivalent to rolling doubles three times in a row. It’s no secret that the old cowboy days of optimization meant a lot of lawless tactics. Subverting the system was the best way to maximize search results, and who was keeping score anyway? Those hoping to translate their mastery of algorithms to a new type of site quickly learn though that things don't work the same way. Instead of a blind algorithm that can easily be fooled, you’re now dealing with real people who have more intelligent reactions to your efforts. Don’t buy utilities, understand railroads are risky, and know that shortcuts in the game of Social Media will get you sent to jail. The only way to succeed is to play the master of the house’s rules, and these days, the master is the average user. "
