10 More Don'ts of Corporate Social Media

"All corporations, organizations, CEOs and boards I know are struggling to define their optimal presence on social media," says Davia Temin, CEO of Temin and Company. "The field is changing so rapidly, and there are so many conflicting ideas of how to best deploy resources that very few know the best way to go. And people are making mistakes. We created this series of deep-dive articles on corporate use of social media to explore not only best practices, but worst practices – not only the 'do's' but the 'don'ts' – in this emerging field."

"The trillion dollar question is 'How do organizations think about communicating to the public now that the public communicates back?'" says Ms. Temin and her co-author,Ian Anderson, Social Media Strategist at Temin and Company. Each article in the series answers this question from a different focus. Most popular to date have been #1: Don't Ignore Your Best Co-Branding Opportunity – Your Employees, trending on the Harvard Business Review LinkedIn group, and the most recent article, #5: Don't Waste Money – Make Your Social Media Advertising Smarter, More Original, More Effective, a new look at advertising creativity on social media – what works, what doesn't, and what the future holds.

"A whole new advertising art form is arising, and that is where the future really lies,"the authors say in Don't #5. "The public does seem to accept with open arms ads on social media that demonstrate real creative quality, and the ability to amuse, entertain, or add value to our lives. These ads do not need to be 'native ads' that pretend they are not advertising. Instead they can harness 'native creativity' that is available because of the medium, but they can do so openly."

Ms. Temin is a contributor to Forbes.com, with a column on "Reputation Matters." Two years ago, she and Mr. Anderson introduced a popular series of articles called, "10 Don'ts of Corporate Social Media" in her column. "So much has changed since then that we decided to create a whole new series, '10 MORE Don'ts of Corporate Social Media,' to capture the latest developments, and help organizations fend off the worst ideas out there, as well as embrace the best," she states.

A list of articles to date follows:

• Introducing "10 MORE Don'ts of Corporate Social Media": "Boards are putting social media on their agendas, as a reputational risk and opportunity. CEOs are puzzling over how to lead and evaluate their companies' efforts, as well as debating what their own social media profile should be. Executive Committees are reviewing metrics and messaging, and still wondering which are meaningful..." 
• #1: Don't Ignore Your Best Co-Branding Opportunity – Your Employees: "We all know employees can be both brand ambassadors and brand detractors. But what we haven't wrapped our heads around is that they are also our most important co-branding opportunity..."
• #2: Don't Confuse 'Thought Leadership' with 'Branded Content' or 'Native Advertising':"Thought leadership, branded content, content marketing, and native advertising are all stops along the continuum of how ideas are expressed, and products are marketed, over the Internet..."
• #3: Don't Waste Your Time(line) – Maximizing Your Own Viral Potential for Thought Leadership: "Thought leadership – the purest form of content – is a valuable currency on social media. Done innovatively, strategically, and well, it can build brand loyalty for organizations and individuals, and help to attract new clients. Done poorly or carelessly, it can do the exact opposite, and turn off these same customers..."  
• #4: Don't Think You're Anonymous – Unless You're Really Anonymous: "These days we seem to be ambivalent – or to want it all: privacy when it suits us; transparency, when it feels right; anonymity when we can choose it; but accountability when others are posting anonymously about us, or those things we care about..."
• #5: Don't Waste Money – Make Your Social Media Advertising Smarter, More Original, More Effective: "On social media, originality in advertising actually has found a new canvas, a new playground to explore. And the profession itself is being redesigned in real time..."

The series of "Don'ts" will continue throughout the month, capped off by the authors' most important "Do" of corporate social media, and an infographic that will capture the entire series, at the very beginning of January.

"Our goal is to step away from the usual analysis, and provide corporate and organizational leaders and their teams with some new thinking, new advice, and new possibilities, as they hone their social media strategies for 2014, and beyond," says Ms. Temin.

For more information, please contact Trang Mar or Lily Rossow-Greenberg of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@temin.co.

About Temin and Company Temin and Company Incorporated (www.teminandcompany.com) creates, enhances, and saves reputations. The firm helps corporations, professional services firms, and other institutions define and strengthen their public image – and their bottom line – through strategic marketing, branding, media relations, thought leadership, social media, speaker and media coaching, financial communications, and crisis management.

Clients include the leaders of some of the world's largest and most well-known corporations, financial institutions, pharma and biotech companies, law firms, consulting firms, colleges and universities, publishing houses, venture capital funds, authors, and politicians.

SOURCE Temin and Company, Incorporated