You’re proud of your work and want to show it off to the world.
“You’re spamming the group,” flames a post. Another post reads, “I’ve seen this already – STOP posting the same thing in every group.”
Is it spamming or marketing? For now, ponder over this question. I’ll ask for feedback after you’ve read my thoughts.
“Do you want to be seen, heard, or be known? Then you need to be out there promoting,” says the YouTube Internet marketing guru. The takeaway from the video is that you cannot rely on your little circle of friends in your social media outlets to expand your business; you have to go to other groups, forums, and markets.
I looked at some of the groups I post in, and their size can range from 500-6,000 people. If the group is active, it may get twenty to fifty posts a day. Have you ever gone on vacation and come back to a group and realized there are hundreds of posts? Frankly, who has the time to look at all those posts?
Would you agree it’s a safe assumption to say that not all 500-6,000 people log in every day? If you’re anything like me, you only check two to three groups. Many of the groups I am a member of, have automatically added me into the group; some I was curious about, and others I have no fricken idea why I’m a part of them.
If you were in the balloon industry pre-Facebook, you would have been part of mbd2.com forum, balloonhq, or the newly started balloon-animal forum. It was common back then to have an individual post a picture, link, or sales pitch in every forum; the only thing was, there were only a handful of communities.
There are thousands of groups on Facebook which are void of activity. With that said, would it not benefit an individual to post relevant information in multiple groups if they are trying to expand their market? Posting in various locations would increase visibility. And here lies the dilemma, posting numerous times.
If I could post one place and generate 1,000 readers, I would do it. For me to create 1,000 readers in one day, I have to post to twenty different sites to produce that number of readers. It is now a numbers game. The more groups I post, the more readers I get.
Is the need for “like’s” so important that people spam a group? Or is the numbers game like me, who needs to post in multiple groups to be read?
My one post Never Have Left Over Balloons Again, generated 840 readers, yet few comments. All the comments are posted on Facebook. Facebook posts force me to spend most of my day replying to posts in twenty different Facebook groups. Beneficial for the group as an activity is occurring, but the blog site is getting no comments.
You may agree with me that it is better to have some activity in a group than none, even if it is a dispute over posting in multiple groups. So I don’t look at it as spamming a group, but more as marketing to readers.
So now that you’ve read my thoughts, I will ask you to share this post in a group or with people who post in multiple groups and post your thoughts below on whether you think to post one content in various groups is spamming or marketing. Don’t forget to subscribe at the top of the blog.
I agree! Huzzah!
Dale,
Here is my take, what is the purpose of the post?
Are your clients in the groups that you post in? Is your market to other entertainers? At the end of the day, I rarely am paid because of posts I have made, I HAVE been hired because of people I have met at industry events. When I see multiple posts from the same person time and again I will usually not read ANYTHING they write, however if someone rarely posts I will usually read that.
We do come from 2 different ways of doing business, for me, I use social media as a way to occasionally touch my clients, most of my touch is done by word of mouth or seeing me because I am a people person and love the personal contact. I spend quite a bit of time networking.
I understand social media is another way of doing things, its jut not as much of a priority for me. Does it make it wrong? No, it takes many different ways to have a successful business and you need to do what best fits your personality and stage in life. (with small children, family time is important.)
I would love to read more about why social media is important and how it has benefited you. Is there a method for reaching a certain demographic, what tools have you found that are successful?
Not everyone is a member of all the groups….so no, i don’t agree that posting in multiple groups one picture one time in each group you are a memnber of is spamming. posting that same picture several times in the same group? Yes, it is.
Hi Rose
Thanks for the feedback…
You asked if clients are in the group, maybe not but like minded people are who share the same passion. Which maybe one reason to share if your clients are not in the group.
I do agree that networking is important, but in our industry (balloon entertainment) people may have to drive long distance to get group of like minded people. The Internet is a fast way to do this, but local work comes from working with local networks.
The tools I found to grow a readership has been posting in like minded groups. Does that transfer into jobs… I could say yes. Other entertainers who’ve read seen or read my blogs have hired me or recommend me for work. So in come cases yes, social media does work.
Thank William for your feedback – I agree posting the same thing over and over again is spam in one group, but could one spam an industry?
I use social media to promote my online business that sells digital instructions and Facebook groups are the best way for me to market to my products. So, this is something I have thought about and continue to think about every time I have a new product. I find it necessary to post in multiple groups knowing that the post will quickly become swallowed in all the other posts in the more active groups. If I did not post in multiple groups I would do a disservice to the people who have entrusted me to market their materials. Posting to multiple groups is good marketing but posting to too many and too often is spamming. I find myself annoyed bu this kind of spamming and try to avoid it myself by only posting in a limited number of groups, ones that the post is relevant to. In other words, I try not to annoy myself.
marketing
Quite a few balloon groups have an overlap in membership. Than means that I am sometimes bored with the duplication of posts from group to group, but I do not feel spammed as long as the posts are on topic for the group and obey the group rules.
— In fact, I browse through most group posts so quickly that it may take several hits before I pause long enough to read a particular post.
— If there is too much duplication between two groups then I simply drop one of them or visit one of them less frequently.
— You are right, Dale, about the promotional value of posting to a variety of groups. My post readership goes up about ten times when I post to my full array of Facebook Groups.
— I do try to mix up the nature of my posts. Most of my posts are my own work, but I try to include praiseworthy selections by others. And, I enjoy including balloon oddities, humerus pieces and inspirational items that include balloons.
— Normally I will re-post an item only once every year or two as may appear appropriate for the season or for some other recurring thread in the group discussion.
— I try to be tolerant of post duplication by others. I have had too many incidents of accidentally posting a duplication myself to spend a lot of time pointing a finger at others. Usually, I find it easier and less hypocritical to simple keep my finger on the scroll button and slide right past the offending post.
I’ve posted the same article in multiple groups before….I’ve also been flagged for it because it was the same moderator for several groups….
I totally agree, I’ve missed good articles because I haven’t logged in for awhile and they were buried in the mix!