I found BusinessWeek's Six Social Media Sins today, and while it's a good article with valid points, I think they overlook the fact that these aren't sins if you don't know what you're doing on Social Media; these are more uninformed blunders.
So to add on to what BusinessWeek started, I made a list of three "blunders" that many newbies to social media make when trying to effectively spread their message.
1. Mixing messages - A twitter account or Facebook updates should have a cohesive theme to the messages (and NOT just marketing messages, like BusinessWeek warns). But if you're talking about what you ate for breakfast without asking readers without relating it somehow to your tone, then it's confusing to the readers as to who is on the keyboard - or even if it's the same person.
2. You think that followers, fans or subscribers are the litmus test of success. If you're communicating and meeting the goals that you've set for yourself, it doesn't matter if you have ten followers or ten thousand. If you're using Twitter to reach journalists and you've successfully contacted several, then you've met your goal. It doesn't matter if you only have 20 or so followers.
3. You think the more platforms, the merrier without evaluating the communication potential. You might not need a Youtube account if you don't really have relevant videos. If you're working for a certain company, for example, having a Youtube channel of just your commercials is straight marketing, and not something that will foster communication. As the article says, social media is "about engagement in two-way conversation" - so just having a profile to be on that platform without something that will create a dialogue, is really just a waste of your time.
Are there any other sins or blunders you see new people or uninformed corporations make? What's the worst mistake you've made, and what lesson did you learn from it?
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