Marketers can be absolute b*stards at times.
I don’t know what I’ve done wrong in a previous life, but choosing to work in the music industry and social media marketing, where egos are rampant, sure feels like punishment at times.
Sometimes I think I’m too nice to be in this industry, but then I look back at why I’m here running this business 15 years later, and many of the people in the examples below have either left the industry, have no reputation, or will fade away in the next 3 years.
Here are The 5 Snide Things Marketers Have Done:
Breadcrumbing for Networking Groups
I remember listening to a podcast when they mentioned the breadcrumbing technique, and I was like “That’s the word for what they did.”
Those readers who follow us will know we run networking groups to support the local business community. We run them for free, and it takes a huge amount of time to run, but I believe in what you give out comes back to you.
At our networking events, we always get a flood of new marketers who see a room full of 100 potential clients and think, “I’m going to go fishing.” I have great relationships with other marketers locally and all around the country, and you can see who I get on with by whom I comment on posts on social media. Only yesterday, I referred work to someone who specializes in paid social, who was a better fit than I was.
But sometimes you get a gut feeling when you meet someone.
Overfriendly. Doesn’t look you in the eye. Vague about their experience. Talks about community, but have never seen them supporting the community.
Now, we had a couple of people who I had that strong gut feeling about.
They came to 4 or 5 events. Got their 5-10 people to join their own “Networking group”. Never came back again. And then had the cheek to tell people not to come to our events.
Now that is breadcrumbing, ladies and gentlemen.
Mercenary and just an icky way to do business.
Joining a Trolling Circle
9.30 pm on a Tuesday Night.
That was when the witching hour started every week.
An ex-councillor took a dislike to us a decade or so ago when he lost his seat.
And he brought together a group of 5 or 6 trolls whom every single Tuesday used to meet in a pub, discuss how they were going to attack me and spent the best part of Tuesday night doing exactly that all over Twitter.
Unbelievably, a social media marketer thought this was a good idea and joined them.
Years and years of this, solicitors and the police had to get involved.
Unfollowing Us from Clients’ Accounts
We offer social media management as well as social media training.
At any one time, we can only take on 6 or 7 social media management clients maximum.
Which means often when some local businesses want to work with us have to say no as we’re full to capacity.
There’s enough work to go around, and inevitably when we’re full to capacity, they end up working with another local social media manager.
Now whether it’s insecurity or something else, some of those managers make sure they unfollow Altrincham HQ from the outset and never comment on our posts again.
They have no idea of our relationship with the business owner, and it just feels strange.
The business owner often has no idea they’ve done this until we WhatsApp them and ask, “Have you unfollowed us by mistake or does someone else have access to your account?”
It’s madness because our 50% business 50% community remit means we often support, share, and comment on businesses with other social media managers because that’s what kind people do.
Following All Our Followings
So, you went through every single person we followed.
And followed them.
Including personal friends, relatives in Australia, bands that only play to 30 people in Manchester, and restaurants I love in Spain.
And you thought that was going to work and grow your business.
This happens with nearly every marketer in the area.
And they don’t realize we have a meaningful community here – not just a list of followers.
If you’re thinking of doing this – remember you’d be better building up a real community of 200 than following the 3000 people we follow on Instagram.
Launching a Workshop the Day Before at 20% of the Cost
We don’t run open social media workshops now.
People tend to want 121 advice specific to their business rather than wider generic advice.
And this example shows you that undercutting on price simply doesn’t work.
We were 30 days away from running an Instagram workshop in Altrincham.
And we noticed something strange on Twitter.
A local marketer has launched an Instagram workshop the day before with near enough a copy & paste of the workshop description and outcomes… at 20% of the cost.
I won’t lie – for 30 minutes I stressed and worried about it.
And then thought they’re doing it for less than the minimum wage, they don’t have the experience we have and anyone smart will go with the experienced option.
We were right.
Our workshop sold out.
Their workshop didn’t take place due to poor ticket sales.
Copying Our Posts on a Near-Daily Basis
There are certain people we know that have the Nickname +1.
As in ITV+1.
Purely because every time we post something, they jump up 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours after us and post exactly the same thing.
No credit. No referencing our hard work or research. Maybe a word shuffle. But pretty much straight up plagiarising.
It might be the modern world and I’m out of step for having old-fashioned values or crediting people, but it just feels wrong that people can profit off other people’s hard work.
Am I alone?
HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THIS IN YOUR SECTOR?
And what did you do
NEED HELP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Looking for authentic ways to grow your social media
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Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
