This post will focus more on a specific aspect that makes the social media world kind of hazardous for users (if you’re new to this topic, I suggest that you take a glance at the first post on this topic for a general overview.)  We’ve probably all heard about spam, but what is it exactly, and what dangers does it pose?

Spam is the misuse or abuse in media outlets, most infamously email.  In email spam, hackers send unsolicited emails (junk) to many users, bringing danger to not just their computers, but in severe situations, their personal lives.  Spammers have moved on from emails to social media.  More spammers are taking advantage of the vast amount of information available through networking sites like Facebook, and businesses need to be aware of this when determining their social media marketing strategies.

Businesses can give access to multiple team members on their Facebook or Twitter pages, usually to help manage workflow.  However, creating these accounts now gives the beholder complete access.  Sometimes, these team members are unauthorized to post something (spam) in the name of the brand or company- and sometimes, team members who have permission to post make mistakes that end up damaging the company.

It’s really easy for a scammer to gather information.  The worldwide web is a huge information portal, and scammers can target information from different demographic segments easily.  Scammers have access to sensitive information, because unlike traditional modes of communication, once something is posted online, it can be spread to multiple places on the web, where anyone can find it.  Spammers can find what they’re looking for quickly, and it’s really easy for them to have users click a link once, and bring them to dangerous embedded pages.

Everyone should be wary of posting information online (many people don’t realize that anyone can access whatever is put on the web), but businesses especially need better filters to prevent spam messages, since their brand’s reputation is at stake.

If companies as big as Coca Cola and American Red Cross, who have large social media teams and efforts, can make critical social media mistakes, who says smaller companies and independent marketers can’t?  The truth is, social media is like a circus lion- if not tamed properly, it can lash out and cause great harm.  Social media has been a world of innovation and improvement, but the instant technological access it provides to millions of users has also presented some danger.  Businesses especially need to be wary of this, and they need to be careful that their social media efforts don’t fall into the “wrong hands.”

Coca Cola and American Red Cross both came across the same problem with their Facebook/Twitter accounts- someone with good intentions who had access to the social media utility posted something harmful indirectly about the company, which of course went viral, and it took a while to clean up the damage.  On their social media monitoring platforms, separate team members were able to monitor feedback, and were often given full access.  In the social media world, everyone is watching.  What’s thought to be a innocent post online can turn into something else- everyone has immediate access.  What’s put on the internet has left its permanent footprint, which can be found and commented on by almost anyone.  Another big problem that social media has brought up that wasn’t as much as a worry with traditional communication methods is its instant-ness.  With just the click of a button, something can be immediately posted…and often it cannot be retracted.  Businesses need to be wary of all these potential dangers- once it has a single mishap, businesses will lose current and potential customers.  It only takes one mistake to screw up the relationship with the public, so businesses and marketers need to be careful with social media marketing in order to avoid mishaps.