Nicola Balkind

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Don’t “If This Then That” That!

By Nicola Balkind

If This Then That

What are your internet pet peeves?

I’ll tell you one of mine. It’s when I find an account that looks interesting…

… And then I scroll down to find that it’s a feed of links to another social network.

 

Automated repetition through platforms like If This Then That is killing your social media engagement. Here’s why.

 

The Problem

This problem of automated repetition is probably most common on Twitter. In recent years, it was most prevalent where Facebook page information was copied to Twitter.

This is usually done through a script like IFTTT (If This Then That), and it’s messy because whenever a Facebook post exceeded the Twitter character limit, the message breaks off with an ellipsis and a link to the Facebook post.

In theory, it’s fine to share the same information across social networking platforms, particularly if you’re serving different audiences in those places.

What isn’t ok is giving your audience the work of clicking through a link to see the second half of an update.

 

Why it’s poor practice

Here’s the problem:

  • It’s dead obvious that you didn’t post directly to the platform
  • It’s sloppy, and
  • Nobody wants to follow a stream of half-baked updates.

If you’re going to be on different social media platforms, you need to have a reason for being there, and people need a reason to follow you.

While some networks get good click-through rates (YouTube gets most of its referrals from Facebook and Twitter, and people still (generally) click on Instagram links from Twitter) – by having an entire network stream dedicated to regurgitating another, you’re reducing your chances of being seen, heard, and bought.

 

The Solution

The solution is easy, and it’s:

If…

THIS: The social networking platform makes sense for your audience and your purpose

Then…

THAT: Make the effort to post useful, valuable content.

 

What are your internet pet peeves?

Filed Under: Social Media & Content Tagged With: facebook, ifttt, instagram, social network, social networking platform, twitter

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Testimonials

Nicola is an experienced creative copywriter, with a great ability to produce quality pieces quickly and at short-notice. She has a great knowledge of social platforms and ability to apply this knowledge. Nicola is an absolute pleasure to work with and brings her creativity and personality to everything she does.
Kaye SymingtonMint Digital & Stickygram
Nicola’s contributions to our projects for Channel 4 were invaluable: her huge knowledge of social media developments and online trends, together with her editorial flair and excellent writing skills made her invaluable in roles that encompassed community management, social media marketing, content strategy and product development. Her dedication, creativity, forward-thinking and attention to detail made her a major factor in the success of these projects. It was a pleasure to work with her, and I hope to work with her again!
Laura GraceMint Digital
Nicola has worked with Purplefeather on various social media and copywriting campaigns. She is creative, reliable and professional and can be completely trusted with the voice of your brand – rare qualities indeed!
Andrea GardnerPurplefeather
Nicola and I worked together across several projects in the Yomgeo community management team. Nicola is great to work with, her attitude towards projects is always amazing and she is incredibly efficient, Her work is always of the highest quality, and I’ve learned a lot from working with her.
Catherine CarriganYomego
Nicola has been my number one go-to for freelance community management. She is incredibly efficient, she is clear with costs, time estimates and invoicing and completely reliable. She is a breath of fresh air in an industry which is plagued by self-promoting “gurus”: her range of skills and experience is broad and authentic. I really appreciate the way Nicola is uncomplicated to work with: she asks quick, straightforward questions about what’s required then sits down and gets the job done without fuss. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Nicola and would certainly work with her again.
Annie MacfarlaneTOMS Europe
Nicola has been nothing but helpful, insightful, and an amazing force to impact our team. She exudes exceptional talent, and throughout working together I’ve been able to see first-hand her strength in organising and leading a team, attention to detail, and ability communicate with her peers and clients effectively. It has been a real pleasure to work with Nicola, and I can’t wait to continue working alongside and learning from her.
Jessica Yamamoto, Yelp
We’ve employed Nicola’s services several times at Yomego and every time she has been absolutely fantastic in both outputs and attitude. Supporting our community management team, Nicola has added invaluable expertise in creating customer focused strategies for our clients and helping to draft truly compelling content plans. I have absolutely no hesitations in recommending Nicola’s services for anyone that places important on ensuring outputs are consistently exemplary.
Sam Macleod
Nicola is crazy talented, knowledgeable and efficient when it comes to Social Media and Copywriting. I had the pleasure to work with Nicola on several online marketing projects over the course of almost two years. Not only is she a fountain of knowledge regarding latest trends and best practices for both Social Media and online writing – she is also able to put abstract ideas into action. Any team looking to improve their online presence would be lucky to get their hands on Nicola.
Eva MartinSERPS Invaders
Nicola was an important member of the Edinburgh International Film Festival Marketing Department and was key in the communication delivery of the Festival. In such a dynamic and demanding environment, Nicola delivered great content and was dependable throughout, an invaluable asset to the Festival.
Ross PerthEdinburgh International Film Festival
Nicola helped transform EIFF’s web vision at a time of change. She is assured and confident with her tactics in an ever-evolving industry and, more importantly, generates great content with results. Allied to Nicola’s strategic savvy, it’s a winning combination.
Colan MehaffeyEdinburgh International Film Festival

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