Are you a crazy cat lady?
Tales from the front… When Social Media Loses Its Mind and Why It Matters To Your Business
Recent headlines have been increasingly antagonistic between the Coast Guard Shooter, NRA’s Use of a Target when referencing Nancy Pelosi and Gabi Gifford and the Roger Stone image of a target in an Instagram post. Why are all of these individuals, organizations, and media professionals engaging in such hostilities?
I’m going to try and answer that while staying party agnostic, but when looking at these types of sensational posts, articles, and engagements, it’s clear. The more volatile a statement on social media, the more likely the life of that post will be extended via further presentation to your audience as well as people outside of your constituents. Let that sink in, the more volatile a statement, the more likely the post will present to a wide audience. More volatility equals more exposure. Is that really true? Check out the Washington Post News to find out!
Progressives, Centrists, Conservatives, and the Russians have all leveraged this to shift the dynamic of our politics and render anything but blind allegiance reason for lambasting, denigrating, and unfriending. Businesses too have used these principles to present their ‘findings’, advocate a product or service, and promote their events. There’s even internet sensations, experts you’ve never heard of whose ads seem to follow you around the web.
If you stand on one side of an argument, firmly entrenched, or the other, these are great opportunities for you to engage with like minded individuals. This does limit the presentation of counter opinions, development of empathy, and understanding of other points in an argument.
You can follow the conversation and have a voice in ways that have never before been in your fingers. As an individual, a business owner, a voter, etc… you are more informed and more responsible than ever before to be mindful of your sources and weigh them accordingly.
When engaging on your social media channels as your business, some of these views may be helpful to your bottom line, others harmful. When I mention the Crazy Cat Lady Spectrum (link to .jpg) to clients, they automatically understand, the posts, images, and videos that push the boundaries of normalcy are going to get the most views. How to proceed from there is less than evident.
What if you’re not all that interested in inciting a riot, creating a frothy reaction and/or attaching your brand to any of that nonsense. What if you aren’t trying to be sensational for a cheap click?
It’s about engagement and understanding what your audience is looking for. There are unique solutions for every industry. We’ve found with both small and mid-size businesses (#SMB) there are even wild swings in the audiences of like industries. It would seem that no two customers (link to post/article on labels) are alike on the web either.
Before you engage on Social Media for your business, ask yourself:
Is your client looking for up to date information on upcoming specials?
Are you trying to engage an audience of new constituents to promote an event?
Do you have a unique product or service that you’d like more people to know about?
Are you having customer service challenges you’d like to resolve?
Would you like to increase the volume and frequency of purchases per client?
Social Media is an opportunity to resolve these challenges and many more. How you engage and who you engage with is just as important as the clients you currently work with. Whether you’re looking to engage new customers or stay in front of existing customers, Social Media offers unparalleled ways to share your message. We can help you #BeSeen & #BeHeard safely, without sounding like the Crazy Cat Lady.
Crazy Cat Lady Spectrum:
Crazy cat lady — Antagonistic Andrew — Informed Isabel — Naïve Nancy — Boring Bill
Crazy Cat Lady – unafraid to jump into the most volatile online fracas, Cat Lady posts inflammatory pics and vids from across the aisle, not afraid to take on an anti-vaxxer or a flat earther to spread the word. She realizes that impressions are money, especially since she most likely has monetized her online presence through ads. Your negative reaction is what Cat Lady needs to survive.
Antagonistic Andrew – dropping posts from both sides under the guise of ‘starting a conversation’, Andrew knows that by firing up both sides of an argument is the best way to get a message across. Andrew does have a message… doesn’t he?
Informed Isabel – No false narratives bandied about by Isabel. She myth busts (link here) and fact checks (link here) all the latest hoaxes, phishing scams, and political misinformation before engaging. She knows theres always room for editorial, but not to take it as fact. Isabel only rarely engages in online social media discussions because she knows there’s more effective ways to be proactive towards solutions.
Naïve Nancy – Nancy is a neophyte, she’s really unsure of all of these new forms of media and has heard good things. Nancy may have dabbled with a personal profile and even started a business profile a few years back, but she’s hesitated to jump in to the fray. She knows as much harm can be accomplished as good online. She may have engaged in a few questionable posts before realizing she had said too much… but hey, it was before lunch, everyone will understand she was just hungry… Right?!
Boring Bill – Bill has been advised to start sharing online, the company he represents is even kind enough to provide pre-approved posts that are meant to advocate for his products and services. Bill doesn’t differentiate himself in any way and posts things that many in his profession are posting, oftentimes, the exact same content. Bill isn’t sure why he’s doing it, but he’s not seeing many results.
