Social Media Requests: How Much is Too Much?



I did a search, clicked a link, and that website I just visited wants to know who I am. And when it asked, I ran. Or least, close the tab and moved on.

Though their intent is most likely not for nefarious purposes, many websites want to know as much about their visitors as possible. They want to target content to me and marketing pitches. But there's a right and wrong way to go about this. Or better, effective and non effective methods.

A common way now is to place a pop up ad to cover the content requesting your name and email before you can read their content. Think that will work? Only if you're trying to chase away visitors. Imagine going into your local market that offers free samples. "Sorry. Before you can have a taste of that ice cream, I'll need to see some ID?" 

The hidden content method simply won't work because there are just too many alternatives out there for information. Do a search for topic, product or service and you'll get thousands of answers. Answers without information requests.

Canned SPAM laws and email marketing services demand that you prove that each subscriber requests and confirms that you can send them email. So then how do you get people to sign up for your newsletter?

Short answer: you don't. Newsletters are dead. No one has time to read them online. If you insist on creating them, snail mail them and you'll probably get better results.

Long answer: replace your newsletter with value, or exclusive content. So that email better have something they can't get any place else. Coupons, private sales, exclusive offers, work well. What if what you're "selling" is content? I've never liked the "sign in to read full article" as I bail on these too. Instead, give me the full article and make me sign up for an exclusive video on the topic.

As for paid content, look no further than the dating websites who have perfected the process. The unsuccessful ones require every last detail before they'll let you browse. The smart ones let you browse and send messages, but you'll have to pay to see who replied.

Requesting social media information all comes down to timing and reciprocation. Know when to ask, how to ask, and limit what you ask for.


Comments

Post a Comment

What say you?

Popular posts from this blog

Social Media and Politics: Soap Box or Silence?

Image
It's that time of year again when your Facebook feed and Twitter roll gets inundated with post after post condemning candidates in one political party or praising those in another. I've posted the occasional political cartoon and meme: Hillary tweeting dark thoughts in her dark glasses; The Donald being The Donald. Many would argue it was with the intent to influence or persuade. I maintain it's because it made me chuckle, but political commentary on social media has become no laughing matter. Outrageous comments expressing our views to anyone who listen.are what social media is for, right? Our candidates do it so why shouldn't we? It sure is tempting to share that observation you heard on the drive into work, that statistic you read online, that funny meme that lambastes that candidate you've never trusted, so why hold back? It's your page to rule. Delete those posts and opinions that you find outrageous and promote the ones that champion your caus...
Read more

Keeping the "Party" in the Business Christmas Party.

Image
I attended a Holiday Party this week. I mean, I think it was a party...   This is not an article on the  validity of the War on Christmas or the value of replacing the word Christmas with Holiday . No this is business. And about a business Holiday party where not only was "Christmas" removed from the party, the partying was removed from the party.  And the fun. Dickens knew how to throw a party - at least on paper he did. When I think of Christmas parties, I think of  A C hristmas Carol 's Fezziwig: young Ebenezer Scrooge's jovial boss. OK, I guess I think of Mr. Magoo's version first but I grew up with that Christmas Carol classic and still put "razzleberry dressing" on my morning toast. The point is that those were real Christmas parties back then. Plenty of food and spirits, music and dance, mistletoe and egg nog, and no liabilities. There was no drunk driving because everyone walked there - or perhaps rode a carriage pulled by a s...
Read more

Have Social Media Grammar Police Gone Too Far?

Image
Full disclosure: Every thing I've written has had at least one comma or apostrophe out of place... Maybe a letter or word omitted in haste when meeting a tight deadline. I'm not proud of the fact, but it goes with the territory. It's not that I'm careless, or couldn't care less as it were, but like many writers I "see" the finished product in my head. I've always known about this shortcoming and praise copy editors as unsung heroes who make us better while preserving the sanctity of the written word in our increasingly video-obsessed society.  Like the make up artists and camera operators are to the actor, editors and copy editors make us writers look good -- or at least better. ( Heck, I even married my copy editor years ago, and not surprisingly, my column and scripts haven't read so messy since we split .)  So in short, writers need copy editors and we should all strive to be grammatically correct when we speak and write. Copy e...
Read more