Oh no – am I really a Spammer?

Be careful you don't spam Reddit because you don't have enough time...

I had a horrible experience at the weekend, and it really was all my fault.

Drowning in Social Media Channels

I love writing my blog, and I want other people to love it to. For two reasons:

• I want it to give people a bit of a laugh or tell them something knew
• I hope in the end to build the KiddyCharts brand, though I don’t actually have anything yet to focus that brand on ironically! Website 2: The Return is a little bit long in production..

So in order to get eyeballs, I am therefore sharing my posts in appropriate channels at different times of day.

However, I am also drowning in the amount of social media there is out there and what’s suitable etiquette for each channel. And that’s where I came a cropper. I didn’t read the small print.

I didn’t have the time. I know that’s a useless excuse….

Beware of not dedicating enough time to Reddit

I love Reddit. I have found lots of great pictures and articles on there, when I get the chance to go on it.

And here was the nub, I don’t get the chance to go there as much as I would like, so I can’t be sociable there as much as I want or should be. And I did, deep down, know that.

Reddit is a social community, so, oddly, they expect you to be sociable and share not just your content, but others. I was honestly trying to do both.

I signed up a month ago and was managing a 50/50 split between mine and others content. I was checking the reddit (or topic area) that I thought was most relevant to me, perusing it, and submitting my posts when relevant.

However, in a moment of madness, I submitted to a topic that I hadn’t looked at before, “to save time.” And I got a comment about being a spammer on one of my submissions. Immediately, I realised that I hadn’t read the small print on that topic, and they were right I wasn’t behaving properly.

So I held my hands up and deleted my account. No-one had reported me or banned me. I just knew I had made a mistake. I couldn’t dedicate the amount of time to Reddit I needed to so that I would be an active member of the community.

I wanted to be able to contribute not just my own stuff but other useful stuff too.

But, I just don’t have the time. So I can’t be part of their community.

Don’t try to be all things to all people

It made me take a long hard look at what I want out of this social media lark. And where I really should be. I am on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus or all four plus more?

I think I now know where my customers are, and ultimately that’s why I should be.

Reddit did bring in traffic to my site, but was it really quality traffic? I doubt it. They didn’t subscribe to my blog, or buy my charts, so none of my goals are fulfilled. Its not about number of hits, its about how the people that come to your site engage with you.

Social media marketing needs to be much more targeted than just about being listed on everything, with no interaction with the people that take the time to chat to you or read your views.

That really is spamming.

Have you had any problems with this recently, where you didn’t “get” a social media site’s etiquette or got burned? Or perhaps you too have been flagged as a spammer and have been hurt a bit by it, but its made you sit up and think? Do let me know.

Helen Neale

Helen is a mum to two, social media consultant, website editor and a qualified counsellor with experience of working with both children and adults.She is a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapists, with her own private practise. She also freelances with her local Mind organisation.Since giving up being a business analyst when juggling travel, work and kids proved too complicated, she founded KiddyCharts so she could be with her kids, use those grey cells at the same time, and supplement her counselling income.KiddyCharts has reach of over 680k across socials and the site. The site works with big family brands to help promote their services, as well as offering free resources to parents of kids under 10. She is a specialist counsellor for neurodivergent individuals and brings this expertise to her resources and the site. She is also an ADHDer herself.KiddyCharts gives 51%+ profits to charities, focused on supporting mental health and a community in TanzaniaHelen has also worked as a digital marketing consultant (IDM qualified) with various organisations, including Channel Mum, Truprint, Talk to Mums, and Micro Scooters. She loves to be creative in the brand campaigns she works on.Get in touch TODAY!

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