Photo credit: jseliger2
A while back I read this article which outlined the ‘7 ways to be insufferable on Facebook’. It was quite the eye-opener, as I came to the realization that just about everyone is guilty of these ‘7 deadly Facebook sins,’ myself included, and that if most people stopped these kinds of posts, Facebook would be a much quicker book to read.
In a nut shell the article states that the majority of people’s posts on Facebook are self-serving, in the realm of calls for attention or ‘look at me’ type bragging, which is only interesting to about 2-3% of your Facebook friends. It also states that the 2-3% are mostly comprised of people that you would tell this news to offline. It’s an interesting dynamic for me, having grown up without Facebook back in the Stone Age before everyone had a mobile phone and an internet connection. I’ve often caught myself about to post an ‘insufferable’ post, only to decide that it’s really not worth posting to the masses on Facebook.
So how does this relate to a business standpoint? Well, with the merging of our personal and professional lives, mostly due to social media and transparency, you really have to think before you post something nowadays. Posting to social media can get you fired, just like it did to Justine Sacco, or the whole thing could be a hoax, a la Dayna Morales. While these instances are miles away from being ‘insufferable’ on Facebook, they stand as good lessons as to how social media has such an impact in the world we now live in.
So if you’re running your business and using your personal Facebook profile to do so, or you have lots of co-workers, clients, or professional peers on your account, you may want to re-think your posting strategies. You may be turning off the majority of your audience, or painting yourself as the ‘Facebook drama queen.’ And I think it’s safe to say you can apply these ways to be insufferable to all Social Media – no one wants to read your cryptic tweets either. As the original article states, to hit your audience you need to have something interesting or humorous to them, and every tidbit of your personal life isn’t as interesting to everyone else as you might think.
So my advice is to ask yourself these questions before you post something on Facebook, or any social media: Is this serving the masses? Is this something I can tell someone in a personal message? Is this appropriate for my audience as a whole? Doing that, and a little tact with what you do post, may benefit your social media efforts, and hopefully gain you an audience that is engaged and interested in what you post instead of turned off and reaching for the mute button.
As always, Tweet at me (@TheRealTomZobel) and let me know what your take is on the matter.
Until Next Time,
Tom Zobel
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