Here are a few sure-fire ways to know that someone has zero self-awareness when it comes to how their personal brand is seen by others on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other social media platforms.
Hey, Look At Me!
– They take the same content/post and drop it into all of their social channels at once, including every Facebook group that they are a member of that they never participate in except to promote themselves
– You somehow end up in a conversation or thread with them online and they respond to you (and others) with a link to an “appropriate” blog post they’ve written
Spell-check and/or Grammarly Aren’t Tools That They Believe In
Their cover art on social media channels features custom links that misspell their own name (ok…in all fairness spell-check wouldn’t necessarily catch a proper noun but C’MON MAN!)
They Post and Post and Post But…No Likes or Comments
Generally when people have tens of thousands of followers on a channel, there should be some expected engagement (i.e. Favorites, ReTweets)…some back-and-forth. When you see 10,000+ followers/subscribers and no likes, and comments, you know something isn’t right. Can you say “fake followers”?
They Like to Delete Other People’s Comments/Tweets
– Not smart as this tends to simply egg on those who had their reply deleted.
Their “Content” is Entirely Self-Absorbed
– They frequently post posed-yet-leisurely “candid” selfies.
– They post/tweet directly to multiple individuals asking them to PLEASE read their latest blog or watch their latest YouTube video.
– You could go to their Instagram account and fill up your entire phone screen with a grid of pictures featuring just them.
– 41 ten-second video snaps on Snapchat in a row? At that point just make a YouTube video.
Beggars Can’t Be Choosers
This is a red flag:
They send public messages/posts/tweets to brands that are in the middle of running (obviously planned out months in advance) influencer marketing campaigns asking how they can be a part of it.
They do the same aimed at conferences and events asking to be a “featured speaker” when the conference is weeks (or days) away.
[SPOILER ALERT: That’s not really how those types of things work]
Self-Quotes Are the Best Quotes
(This could really go under the self-absorbed content section except that this is a special kind of non-self-awareness)
I totally agree with Jay Baer of Convince and Convert on this: can we stop quoting OURSELVES and putting our “AMAZING-in-our-own-mind” words in tweets and graphics already? I’m not sure what the people who still do this are trying to accomplish, or how they think audiences will react, but its just weird at this point.
If that quote from your book was THAT good, other people would be making quote graphics of it for you.
Here’s a short list of people throughout history who can get away with doing this (or could have):
- Moses (especially after he came DOWN from Mt Sinai)
- Winston Churchill
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Bob Dylan
- Yogi Berra
- Any of the characters from the movie Office Space
That’s IT!
If you work in marketing or follow the social media industry, I guarantee that you’ve seen ALL of these things, and you will CONTINUE to see all of these things.
It’s just how it is, and it won’t really change…ever.
People who employ some, or all of these tactics that continue to have success…why WOULD they change it up?
Just know however that this is really NOT the way to go about branding yourself, and while you may enjoy some success initially or for even a while, in the end it does more to hurt you (especially among your peers) than to help you or anyone else.
