How Not to Promote Your Company on LinkedIn

graphic courtesy of thetibcoblog.com

I spend a lot of time counseling clients on how to promote themselves appropriately through social media channels. There is a way to do it that educates, engages and (sometimes) even entertains. And then there is the way not to do it — by engaging in clumsy one-way promotion.

I came across an example of the latter last week in LinkedIn. In the Future Satellite Communications group, an executive had cut and pasted his company’s latest press release as a “Discussion.” The mistake here is two-fold.

Number one, a press release is not a discussion starter, it’s not personal. It’s a marketing message blasted to the largest audience possible. It still has its uses (in my view mainly SEO), but it’s not a customized message suitable for a more expert, niche LinkedIn audience. You can promote your company effectively using social media, but not if you consider it just another channel for your marketing collateral.

Last year I published an article in Social Media Today that talked about the need for transparency in LinkedIn. You need to understand the community etiquette and respect your audience, and be ready for actual conversation. That’s the second mistake made here.

It should come as no surprise that many members of the Future Satellite Communications group know a little something about satellites. Two of them asked specific questions about claims made in the release, because this was supposed to be a discussion. Six days in, there is no response, total radio silence from the promoter.

This is a textbook social media promotion failure, and positions the promoted company poorly in front of a potentially influential audience. Don’t let this happen to your company.