10 Pitfalls of Social Media

If social media is not working for your business, maybe you need to work on your social media. That’s the word from Barry Libert, author of Social Nation: How to Harness the Power of Social Media to Attract Customers, Motivate Employees, and Grow Your Business (Wiley publishers; www.socialnationbook.com). “Like any strategy for growth, social media isn't foolproof," says Libert, the CEO of a social software company called Mzinga. "If you don't want your company's social strategy to fall flat, there are some guidelines you'll need to follow." He compares social tools to a booth at a trade show: “You need to understand that there's a lot of prep work to be done. You can't just set up a Facebook profile for your company, tweet once or twice a day, and expect public interest in your company to shoot through the roof.” Basic rules (e.g., know your audience, make sure you have internal buy-in) should be understood in advance. And of course knowing what not to do is important, too. For Libert’s 10 pitfalls of corporate social media, read on: