The “Pat on the Back Effect” – The Flaws in Social Media
There is a real problem that needs to be addressed here and now. It’s been ignored for way too long. Or at least, no post has been made about it. It’s costing you tons and tons of time and you are missing out on tons and tons of money. What is that problem? The “Pat on the Back Effect”.
This may seem like a strange thing for me to say. But social media may be actually doing you a disservice. In order to gauge whether it is or not you have to answer these two questions.
- Have you gotten more responses, as far as quantity and quality, on social media platforms than on your blog or website?
- Have you pushed off starting your email list and focused more on social media?
If you answered “yes” to either question then you better listen up! If you didn’t, you may still follow along if you see fit. But you may be better off then most of the readers. So “high five”!
So what’s wrong with answering “yes” to the questions? They both create a “Pat on the Back Effect”. My definition of the “Pat on the Back Effect” is a clouding over reality that is put forth by a success that doesn’t translate to your ultimate goal. In simpler terms, you succeed but it doesn’t actually help your goal of more readers or money.
In-Depth Explanations of the Questions
The questions I chose to ask were carefully selected to hit on specific portions of the “Pat on the Back Effect” I explained earlier. This is an effect you don’t want to fall into while working on your projects. It can cause your progress to slow down and loss of focus on your end goal.
Have you gotten more responses, as far as quantity and quality, on social media platforms than on your blog or website?
The first question hits on the “Pat on the Back Effect” directly. If people are talking to you on Twitter or Facebook it gives you a wrong sense of how well you are doing. People may be interacting with you on Twitter, but they might not even go to your blog. It makes you feel good that they are talking to you. But that doesn’t actually help you earn any money or make a difference.
Social Networking websites is somewhere that a lot of people go and stay. So it’s natural for them to interact on these websites. But they may not take the jump to your blog. So, if you get trapped in feeling great for 50 likes on Facebook that may give you a feeling of success. But, in reality, you only have 4 people reading your blog. In this case, social networking websites become a distraction from reality and create the “pat on the back effect”.
Have you pushed off starting your email list and focused more on social media?
This is a mistake that most bloggers make (and that includes myself) when they start out. They don’t add a form to get their reader’s email addresses. This is a HUGE mistake. Sending emails gives the best conversion rate and acts as a way to get back to your blog. Where Twitter or Facebook is almost a different community off your blog. Also, Facebook and Twitter can take away your accounts at any time. But you have those emails, you can save them to a Word document and have them forever.
Social media provides you with a distraction from the all-important email list. It is a mistake that a lot of bloggers in every niche are making. Be better then all of them and start an email list. It will really help you in the long run.
A Clarification on Social Media
Social Media is a great tool, there is no doubt about that. But, as I’ve stated in this blog post, it can also be a great distraction. It may seem to go against a lot I’ve said in past posts, but it really doesn’t. All I’m saying is make your email list your first priority. Then add in Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Linkedin as extras. It will help you grow your blog and your influence.
Are you building your email list right now? If not, what are you going to do to make it more of a focus? Leave your thoughts below in the comments.
Hey Nick,
I have to agree with you about social media. You sure can waste a lot of time and not really get anywhere with social media. I have heard people swear by their results from social media outlets, but I have not seen much difference there so far…. Still I use Twitter to tweet content I like and retweet.
Thanks for the info Nick,
Talk again soon,
~Jeremy
Yeah, it’s a big distraction but it can also be helpful. You just have to make sure you spend more time on your blog, then your Twitter account. I know there were some days where I spent way too much time on Twitter when I could have been writing content or working on getting emails for my email list. But I wrote this post talking about my refocus and hopefully other people will see the value in refocusing.
Thanks for the comment!
Most people probably don’t know how good social media can be for their business, and many don’t realize how effective social media is. Without a way of measuring the success of social media, they are blindly using that form of communication without realizing the effect it has with their customers.
I feel people are getting more in tuned to the fact that Social Media can be very helpful for their businesses. And a lot of people are seeing the effects quite visibly. But, there are definitely still businesses out there that don’t see the value in it. And they will learn soon enough.
Hi Nick,
I’m with you 100%! I sometimes feel that social media is just a huge burden on my time with very little reward!
As for email engagement I still think this is the way forward for long term goals of your online efforts.
“Sending emails gives the best conversion rate” Agree with this comment.
Get work on the blog Nick.
Thank you for the comment! I’m glad you see the importance of the email list. But definitely don’t completely ignore social media. It is useful!
When I read the article I thought you were calling attention to the fact that social media doesn’t convert and you were doing it in a rather engaging way.
But then you show a blind allegiance to social media in your response to Becca and I wonder if you really do understand.
Simply put, social media *may* be helpful to one’s business, but if you don’t make sales or conversions your first, second and third priority, you won’t have a business to promote.
Basically, I feel that although Social Media is important people see it as the most important piece to their business. And an email list is way better at converting. I do feel Social Media is important to businesses, but I see them as also getting people away from the main purpose of converting people to sales. Do you know what I mean?