3 Reasons Posting to Social Media Will Hurt Your Association

Most of us are routinely posting member information and video to social media. What was once thought of as best practice should now be considered a non-starter for associations eager to keep members.

It used to be so easy. You could make a video on an important association topic, post it on YouTube, and link it back to your website. With the proper tagging on YouTube, anyone searching for your association or the topic would easily find - and hopefully watch the video.  

What could possible go wrong?

Little did anyone realize that YouTube, Facebook and the rest of the mainstream social sites are really getting your viewership to go to alternative content that is supported by advertising.  Not to mention the fact that every view is being recorded as part of the individual's data profile. 

I liken putting videos on YouTube as stopping the use of your association newsletter/magazine and instead just posting those stories on social media. 

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When you post on social media, 3 things happen

  1. Your brand starts eroding – There is something about reading an article coming from an authentic brand in a formal way.  It elevates the importance and value of the same content that is instead seen in a Facebook or YouTube post.
  2. You stop monetizing – you just gave the sponsorship, pay-per-view or subscription opportunity to the social media platform
  3. You give up your membership information to a competitor who has much more money to spend on technology and AI to manage the relationship with that member (even if the member doesn’t know it is happening).

Social media still has it's place for promotion of content on your website. Smart associations are using teasers and short form posts to drive viewers to their website from social media to consume content where it can be controlled and branded specifically to your association. 

With all the data scandals coming out relating to Facebook and YouTube, maybe it's time to start protecting your content and the future of your association with a more defined and restricted social media strategy. 

Social media is becoming more and more of a risk everyday. It's time to start thinking differently about how you use this dangerous channel. For more information of how you can use social channels for your benefit, click on the button below for a complimentary consultation.

Association TV® is a division of WorkerBee.TV

Dan Stevens is president of WorkerBee.TV

 

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