Turn The Tables Series - Question 2
Hello friends! Kristen here! I am thrilled to bring you the second installment of my "Turn The Tables" series. If you haven't had a chance to read why I decided to do this series, click on over HERE. I am thrilled at the people I am hosting at my "dinner table" this week, and especially for this question about social media pet peeves. I didn't pose this question to offend anyone or scold anyone, I just wanted to show people that there are similar threads in what we think, so if it bothers you it most likely bothers someone else. And if you think people don't notice things on social media because their accounts are so big or small, think again. Each and every business owner loves their business. After all, that is why they started it in the first place, they love what they do. This is their baby. Why wouldn't they read the comments, see the photo shares, or read the messages? Just because an account has xxx,xxx,xxx number of followers or likes or comments doesn't mean they don't see it.
Let me be the first to tell you. I am not perfect nor do I do everything perfect on social media. I make a lot of mistakes. And it's ok. My team and I try to do our best, and as my friend Emily Ley says, "grace, not perfection!"
One of my biggest pet peeves is when I see people call someone out or say nasty things over social media. I am all about honesty and transparency, but if you can't say it to the person's face or even over email, maybe it shouldn't be said at all? I feel like social media manners should transcend real life manners because we don't have the physical presence of ourselves, only our devices like smartphones, tablets and computers to hide behind. If I get upset, I count to 10 and think about it in the big picture of life, and if I really feel the need to have my voice heard I send an email. We are relying on typed words to convey a message. Inflection in a voice adds a lot to a conversation. I could talk about that whole subject for days! ha! I wont!
At Thimblepress® we make a huge effort to respond to people or like the photos that have been tagged with our hashtags or if we have directly been tagged in the photo. A lot of times if we are just mentioned in the comment we cannot see it or go back and find it, so we unfortunately miss some from time to time. I think as a company if someone posts your products, have the social courtesy to say thank you or like the post back. To us it means a lot if a customer or retailer posts our products. LIKE A LOT! We get so giddy and excited because we are making other people happy with our products. Ultimately, that is the why we do what we do! And same goes for when we post about another product from someone else and they comment back or like our photo. Happiness!
Guys, this is a good post and I just love the honesty everyone put forth. GOSH I LOVE THESE CONTRIBUTORS below! Here we go! -Kristen
QUESTION 2
SOCIAL MEDIA MANNERS. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE AND WHY?
"Deleting negative feedback or comments from your feed! It makes you look sketchy -- especially when you delete the negative comment, but not your response!! Be honest and apologetic when something doesn't go right for your customers -- sweeping it under the rug is NOT a solution." -Amy
CONNECT WITH AMY: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"I have two. Please don’t submit your work to be sold in my shop through Facebook Messenger or by posting on my wall. I have channels set up for submissions and they are clearly laid out on my website. By messaging me, it tells me you didn’t bother to read those or you are just taking other means to reach me. I try to be professional with my submission process and I wish more people would do the same. Second, when I post a new item to the shop, please don't tag a friend and say we could make these for... whatever the event, case, person might be. It's been made, you'd just be copying someones hard work and creativity. " -Erin
CONNECT WITH ERIN: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"My biggest issue with social media is just our addiction to it - myself included. I analyze and agonize over what is liked, what isn't liked, and silly things like how much I'd just like to have a "k" behind the number of my followers." -Meg
CONNECT WITH MEG: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"When people use my photo without giving credit. So much time and effort is put into creating an image and not giving credit to that business owner is stealing (in my opinion). Take the time to create your own style for your business...it will pay off in the end." -Heather
CONNECT WITH HEATHER: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"I personally like to do my own discovering and research of brands, so I don't really like when I see something I love and it says "like it to know it"; I'm like "I did like it and I want to know it RIGHT NOW!" -Aubrie
CONNECT WITH AUBRIE: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | aubrie's instagram
"People who don't give credit to designers on their blog or social media really get my goat. It's simple and easy to do. If you're curating content for your followers (and especially if you're selling advertising), you're benefitting from someone else's design work. Just give credit! It's the ethical thing to do. I also feel like people don't ask for permission often enough. It's one thing if it's a fan sharing an Instagram pic, but another if it's a blogger who's sharing your work without credit. Makes my blood boil. (Is that too honest?)" -Sara
CONNECT WITH SARA: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"I suffer from major envy when I see too many vacation photos... I can't blame folks for posting them, but when I'm trapped in the studio working on a big project, I'm not that excited to see half a dozen beautiful photos of beachside cocktails in Tulum as I scroll through my Instagram feed." -Erin
CONNECT WITH ERIN: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"People who unfollow me. JK! I’m not sure! I am the most active on Instagram and I follow very well-mannered people. I have not yet had the displeasure of Trolls on my photos. I have unfollowed people who tend to style the same picture day after day. A flower and three pencils, look, a flower and a pencil. Oh! A pencil and three flowers. Ingenious! Change it up!" -Kristina
CONNECT WITH KRISTINA: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"Biggest pet peeve - cyber bullying. Being mean. It’s like Thumper said, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” (Bambi)" -Emily
CONNECT WITH EMILY: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"People who comment on pictures of my work on IG, tag their friend and say "you should copy this!" ARGH!" -Emily
CONNECT WITH EMILY: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"Don't air out your grievances on social media. Yes, we all have things to complain about and yes, we all have bad days and yes, there may or may not be people to complain about, but our community is small. If you burn one bridge, you'll probably end up burning more." - Lisa
CONNECT WITH LISA: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"Social media is a full-time job, but it can be rewarding in so many ways. I really contribute Glitter Guide's success to social media especially since we've never done any traditional marketing or PR. It can be hard though, it takes a lot of time, thought, and management. To really thrive you need to be connecting to people and being personal and sometimes I struggle with that and naturally want to be more private. So it's about finding a balance for me; sharing but not over sharing. My pet peeve is people tagging me in random photos. Happens a lot. I let it go, but it can be a tad annoying. It depends what it is. Like I get tagged in a Taylor Swift photo once a week! " -Taylor (Photo by Delbarr Moradi)
CONNECT WITH TAYLOR: website | glitter guide's instagram | taylor's instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"When people tag their friends in the comments of our instagram posts and say stuff like, "We should make something that looks exactly like this!". It takes every ounce of my patience and inner goodness to not write back in all caps and say "DON'T STEAL OUR SHIT, OK??? NOT COOL!!!", although sometimes I do have to write that. In a more eloquent manner, of course. Plus, lawyers help." -Arley-Rose
CONNECT WITH ARLEY-ROSE: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"I hate to see those folks who copy and paste comment on every picture in a hashtag in an attempt to get more followers. "Gorgeous" on every picture I've ever posted somehow doesn't feel genuine after a while." -Erin
CONNECT WITH ERIN: website | lucky-luxe instagram | facebook | erin's instagram | pinterest
"It always gets me when people repost photos without crediting the source - or when people post work without crediting the maker. The worst thing I’ve seen - and I see it often - is people tagging someone else on an artist’s photo - saying “@soandso Can you make this for me?” You are literally commenting on the maker of this item’s photo. Their profile page has a link to their online shop. If you love it, why wouldn't you buy it from them? I just don’t understand the concept of not supporting the artist you are a fan of." -Sam
CONNECT WITH SAM: website | instagram | twitter
"I would say Instagram is our most popular and favorite platform because our brand is so visual and fun! Instagram is an amazing way to showcase what we do without saying too much. I wish you could occasionally add a link to post because I feel like we don't want to take the time to exit out of an image and click back to the description of a page. We gotta make it as easy as possible for people! Myself included :) I guess I don't have a huge social media pet peeve? I love social media." -Jordan
CONNECT WITH JORDAN: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"Two things on instagram: when people don’t credit re-grams correctly, and when people do the dreaded “did you get my email/check your DM!” public outing." -Kristen
CONNECT WITH KRISTEN: website | instagram | facebook | tumblr | pinterest
"There are too many platforms to manage and it can easily become a full time job!" -Jillian
CONNECT WITH JILLIAN: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"I do not really have a pet peeve. But people really do show you who they really are if you look at their SMM (social media marketing)." -Tiffany
CONNECT WITH TIFFANY: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"I love social media and I used different platforms in different ways. My biggest pet peeve applies to all platforms and it has to do with attitude. Negativity on social media really bothers me. I know that life isn’t all roses and glitter, and I’m all for transparency but I have a hard time with people who repeatedly post about their bad days, awful client experiences and or leave negative comments on other people’s feeds; particularly when posting from their business handles. In my opinion, it is unprofessional. Social media is an excellent tool for building real relationships with people in your industry, customers and potential partners. I always encourage our TSBC students to think about how the post represents you and your brand and to remember that you never know who is listening in." -Katie
CONNECT WITH KATIE: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"Talking smack about your customers on any social media platform." -Susan
CONNECT WITH SUSAN: website | instagram | facebook | pinterest
"When someone does not tag or give credit to the parties or brands involved! I have done it too, being in a rush, but I always try to go back and tag or comment! " -Kelly
CONNECT WITH KELLY: website | kelly's instagram | brand instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"As a photographer, mine are not crediting the photographer and IG filters on pro photos. We work very hard at our craft to create beautiful imagery and that imagery becomes part of us. When I'm perusing IG and I see a photo on someones feed that they didn't take and the photographer isn't credited, I want to cry for them. In this day and age social media is a huge platform to grow your brand. When credit isn't given, that person misses the opportunity to grow their brand. Just last weekend, a huge IG account featured one of my images with no credit given and received almost 10k likes and no one knows that I took that image or how to find me. As a business person, I think of all the potential followers or clients I missed and as an artist I want to scream because that is my art floating around without anyone knowing it's mine. Also, I have to include putting an IG filter on a pro image from a photographer. I know it's never intentional, but keep in mind, we put time and effort into developing our brand. Part of that brand is how we want our imagery to look and making it look different misrepresents our brand. Let's all vow to give credit where credit is due. Love and encourage each other and help make their brands as awesome as they can be!" -Beth | (Photo by Lauren Liddell)
CONNECT WITH BETH: website | instagram | facebook | pinterest
"I LOVE social media, especially Instagram and Pinterest! I've found so many talented stationers, calligraphers, and more through social media. But I want that discovery to happen organically. I'm not a fan of people tagging me in a photo of their work or telling me to "check something out" on social media in an effort to submit their work to Oh So Beautiful Paper. I have a formal submissions process that exists for a reason. It feels disrespectful and a bit lazy when someone tries to bypass the submissions process via social media." -Nole
CONNECT WITH NOLE: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
"As a shop owner, social media can be a helpful and powerful tool. I often find vendors and develop relationships through instagram. But it's still strange to me when vendors seem tone-deaf to how awkward it is when they comment "check out my line" or something similar on random instagram posts." -Emily
CONNECT WITH EMILY: website | instagram | facebook | twitter | pinterest
Thanks again friends for following along on our new Turn The Tables series, and I truly hope you enjoyed it! Catch question 3, next Wednesday!
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