My stomach turns, my eyes roll, and I heave a deep sigh every time I hear people say to me how lucky they are to be able to write the exact same thing on all their sites at exactly the same time . . . so that they can get on with the really important parts of their life.

IMHO [In My Humble Opinion], automatic, robotic, non-deliberate, helter-skelter postings are the bane of the Internet.

On the other hand, the opportunity to truly connect with large numbers of people to share information is paradigm-changing and an essential step in building a better world.

That is why I love social media.

So when I read this blog/discussion comment “There are no bad ways to leverage social media,” I naturally had to disagree. In fact, one of my popular posts, 10 Mistakes Made by Social Media Newbies, lists ten basic cautions.

And here’s another doomed-to-fail strategy sent me by a marketer who doesn’t know social media and wants to farm it out to someone who does. On the surface, that plan certainly could work, but not given the RFP [Request for Proposal] prescriptions. Here is what will not work:

1) The marketer does not want the social media person to talk with the client.

2) The social media person [SMP] is supposed to spend only 8-10 hours a month.

3) In that amount of time, the SMP must “set up, improve, and manage the following profiles: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and a YouTube channel.”

*NOTE from RFP: “This should include but not be limited to the addition of contacts, photos, videos, groups, fan pages and all necessary structures that allow you to successfully execute on that social media platform. Any and all additional tools you deem necessary to execute a robust social media plan should be part of your setup process with each client.”

4) In that same 10 hours a month, the SMP is also supposed to “create, proof, and send two 500-word e-zine articles and one email blast per month.

5) Oh, did I say that the SMP does not talk to the client?

The big thing that the marketer fails to understand is that social media strategy involves an organizational understanding and mindset that customers can become partners. Social media is not a Push strategy where messages are simply distributed; rather, there must be listening to the cyber discussions, responding to feedback, and sharing a wide variety of information.

PS I got this Direct Message on Twitter from someone whom I had just followed: Let’s be honest; this is an “auto” welcome. But I still appreciate you 🙂 Let me know if I can help in any way.

Here was my response: I LUV your blog, but I hate AUTO anything, even if someone is being “honest.” Auto is a huge turn-off to me 🙁