There are some people out there who think that “doing” social media for a living isn’t really a job. But what they don’t experience are the frequent obstacles social media managers combat when trying to enhance a brand’s presence online. Behind the red hearts and blue thumbs-ups lurk dark forces that try to keep us from doin’ what we do.
How I Got Tricked into Having Multiple Conversations with a Robot on LinkedIn
Claiming company pages on LinkedIn can be a slow, arduous process. At least it is when you encounter a road block and need to contact customer support. It once took me months to gain admin rights to a page because LinkedIn uses email domain authentication as the means to claim a page, which makes it difficult for third parties who need to rely on clients to monitor their inboxes for the confirmation email and forward it to me. This particular client claimed he never received the email (and yes, he checked his spam folder). After much back-and-forth with customer support (copying the client), it became evident that I was never going to be able to claim this page, no matter how many workarounds I tried. It was only after I sent a frustrated tweet to LinkedIn support that I was saved. And not by LinkedIn. One of my followers, who just happens to work on LinkedIn, reached out to me and offered his help. If it weren’t for that Good Samaritan, my client still wouldn’t have a presence on the social networking site.
(And by the way, LinkedIn, that’s not good for anybody, including you.)
Fast forward to this week…the week I found out that LinkedIn’s customer support workforce is really just an assembly line of robots. Here’s the thread that proves it.
Uh huh. Is it just me, or is this “person” incapable of critical thinking…much like a ROBOT would be?
Thanks a lot LinkedIn, for your canned responses to my legitimate issue.
Why My Ad That Was Violating Nothing Still Got Yanked from Facebook
Many social sites (shoutout to Facebook and Twitter) have really strict rules about how brands advertise contests. The biggest no-no is telling people to like a page or share a post as a mode of entry into a sweepstakes. Instead, brands are told to use an approved third party app. Why not just do it? Facebook threatens to take down your page if you violate their terms of use. I don’t want to take that chance, especially when it comes to my clients’ pages.
My workaround is to announce contests through blogs and then post about it ton social networks, directing people to jump out to the blog for more info and to enter the contest. Nowhere do I say to “like our page” or “share our post.” I’m simply using social media to connect and share what’s going on. You know, connect with my fan base and spread the word. Groundbreaking idea.
So this week I posted about a contest on a blog and “promoted” the post (a quick, inexpensive way for your post to reach more of your followers and your followers’ friends), only for it to get yanked several hours later (the ad, not the post). So what terms did I violate? I don’t feel like sifting through the terms of use legalese at the moment, but you can bet that I will.
This doesn’t end here.
Vine, You Were a Cool Concept, and I’mma Let You Finish, But Instagram Is the Greatest App of All Time
Instagram now has video! Instagram now has video! Instagram now has video! PLUS I get 15 seconds to record? PLUS I get to apply filters and such? PLUS it has the press and hold feature?
Watch my very first Instagram video, taken at the 2013 College World Series.