Are you a social media punisher?

Don’t be a punisher

We’ve all been stuck at a party with that fragment-grabber who charges the conversation around like a frothing dog chasing seagulls. The demand on your attention to their fickle stream of opinions and irrelevant anecdotes results in a kind of verbal washout, a one-way communication which prevents any valid connection from taking place. In a social situation, you are held hostage by politeness – you can’t just walk away without seeming at least a little rude. But if you become a social media punisher, you are not protected by these same conventions; you will be met with a horrible flurry of unfollows, unsubscribes and blocks, rendering your best communication tool with your subscribers, completely useless.

Social media, at its most effective, should bear the hallmarks of good conversation. There should be some consideration to relevance, flow and feedback. Follow these simple tips to make sure you are not a social media punisher.

relevance

1. Make a quick review of your last post to see if you can segue.

You can

• connect it by theme or concept
• connect it through a visual link (memes are an example of this)
• flip it to show the ‘other side’ of the statement you are making

flow

2. Build on the content of an earlier post with more of the story.

You could include

• a closer look at a particular detail
• a “what happened next” in the action (selfie’s and videos are great here)
• featured links to similar stories around your topic/issue which raise further interest

feedback

3. Show you are connected to your audience and value their participation and feedback.

You can do this by

• asking for comments or content on a particular aspect of a recent post
• link to community forums/groups which are mobilised and addressing similar issues
• make adjustments or corrections when called out on mistakes or misinformation