2012 will be a bit different than 2011 when it comes to the consequences of bad social media practices. The potential and risk to turning people off is going to be greater.

In 2011, most consumers generally tolerated over the top and/or constant sales messages or pitches because so many institutions/companies did it. More brands have made it through the gradual growing pains and are realizing how to more successfully use social media to build relationships and in the best cases, create advocates. It’s about talking.

I would say that in 2012, viewers will be less likely to glance and brush off your messages and more likely to actively stop following your updates, which in their eyes may come across as desperate or spamful. This is the year that the institutions and companies that build relationships will really rise up and see tangible benefits, and those that don’t will fail to make advances and lose marketshare in their field. This factor will be more prevalent in business than higher ed, but higher ed is obviously shifting to many of the same principles, and social media communication is a large part of it.

The “Real World” Does Not Exist
Social media is “real world” and a way – just like any other – that people get to know a college or university or conduct business with a company. Online conversations are just as real as in-person ones, and it’s important to value them as such in 2012. Interact with your audience in a genuine and smart way online and the conversions will come natrually.

For higher ed audiences, a good example of this is interacting with conference content and attendees online. If you can’t be at a conference physically, you still have access to much of the content being shared at that conference through online presentations and, more importantly, online networking. More to the point of this post, social media is not a medium for telling people what to do. It’s about communication. Period. And something important to consider that all-to-often goes under the radar: when you are using social in a true, effective way, you are much more prepared to deal with crisis management. As the Forbes article titled “Crisis Management: The Real Test of a Brand in the Social Media Space?” goes on to state, “Properly handling a crisis in the social-media space is where you separate the men from the boys or women from the girls.”

A Prominent Example
One of my favorite people for inspiration in social media and so much more is author (one of many hats) Gary Vaynerchuk. This certainly isn’t the first time I’ve brought him up in a blog post, and I guarantee it won’t be the last, but he is constantly pushing vital points and is ahead of others in the online marketing and social media game. He’s an incredible reference. His most recent video on the danger of overtly pushing content (he’s made many on this subject, going back years) is below. NOTE: Beware Gary’s questionable language around 1:35.

As mentioned in the video, The Oprah Winfrey Network was a little too over the top in its effort to have a hashtag retweeted, and to say the least, it came off as very desperate and damaging to the brand. This content simply isn’t valuable to the viewer.

Just Be Careful!
I’m sure you’ve heard many of the above points before, but I predict this becomes real to your bottom-line this year. Make sure your departments and social network users – all of them – are acting appropriately.

It’s becoming more possible for your online reputation to break your brand in 2012, no matter how much on-point messaging you might be advertising through “traditional” means. The more you push overtly and inconsiderately in 2012, the higher potential for your audiences to stop listening. Be very, very careful how you promote your institution and your messages and always remember that social media is at its best when you are talking with people, not to them.