5 Social Media rookie mistakes companies make

The more I speak with marketing people in big companies, the more I detect caution and 'analysis paralysis' when it comes to Social Media marketing.  There are many things that you can do right, and an almost limitless number of things you can do wrong.  

Doing something wrong in the social space can either go unnoticed and unheard, or can cataclysmically destroy a brand.  Rarely do we see the latter, with mistake makers ending up somewhere in between.

5 Social Media Marketing Mistakes

1. Exploiting a network too early - When venturing into a social network as a company, your objective shouldn't be to sell your product on day 1.  You are there to build a network, so that when you have something of value to share-- people may actually listen, and there are enough people that is some listen, you get your ROI.

2. Faking anything - Use your real name. Tell people that you work for the company.  Let them know that your monitoring conversations, if that's what you're doing, but absolutely do not impersonate a 'fan' of your brand and spoof comments and cred.  Somehow, people always find out, and it can hurt the brand more than it will ever have helped it.  What's so wrong with being genuine and telling other humans what you're all about and what you're trying to achieve as a company.  Honesty can never be beat up.  

3. Taking more than you give - Social networking should create value for the consumer, for your customer, and for the participants.  If all that happens, you WILL get the benefits you're looking for.  If it's all "register now" or buy-one-get-one, or "we have a walled garden and restrict access, but please feel free to share with us all your inner most thoughts"-- you'll lose people (if you can even get them in the first place) and you'll find the ROI of such a venture will suffer.

4. Being too cheap - Most social networks will let you participate as a brand with little to no investment (as far as actual money).  Where you can cheap out is in resources, community management, brand reputation management, online monitoring, and incentives for your advocates.  I heard a great example of being smart with 'social marketing' by David Meerman Scott, who described an marketing exec at Universal Studios who needed to promote the opening of their new (at the time) Harry Potter theme park.  This exec figured out who the 7 most popular bloggers were in the Harry Potter world, and invited them to participate in the ultimate 'sneak-peek' video-cast introducing them to the idea, the park, some actors, the creators, etc-- and basically gave them the ultimate scoop.  These 7 blogged, millions read, mainstream media picked it up, and for very little money, they reached over 350 million people.

5. Forgetting to Listen - One of the most common of Social Marketing mistakes.  It's a conversation, and in a conversation, there has to be listening.  The best way to succeed in Social Media is to listen as much as possible and start to dip a toe into the conversation.  Learn about what your champions and advocates are saying (and to whom).  Learn what your haters and flamers are saying, and communicate with them directly.  Try to solve their problems, as though they were in your store complaining.  

Comment with examples of companies that have made mistakes in this space...