No, really, how does one go about telling someone that everything they are doing on the internet is not what they need to be doing and not come across as a being a butt? (Or asshole, as most people will see you as being.)

If you have been on any of the social or business networking platforms for more than 10 minutes you have seen the badly produced videos or inappropriate political remarks that make you cringe with embarrassment for the person who made the statement.   

It is especially awkward when you know the person.  Even worse if they are a close friend or business associate.

The Fact of the Matter

The hard fact of the matter is you know good and well they are not intentionally producing a bad video or making an off the cuff remark about a controversial issue. 

Another fact is most people who post content to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube are not aware that what they post, on a regular basis, becomes marketing material for their personal brand which reflects directly to their Business Brand.

Everything someone says or does online is an advertisement for everything associated with everything they do.  A bad video tells people you don’t care about the viewers.   Same goes when someone posts a comment to someone’s political rant.  Yes, here in the USA, you are free to say and do almost anything, but being off color in what you post will not make you an authority or expert.

Consumers Do Not Like to be Offended

Most people do not go to the internet to be offended.  Consumers go to the internet to find solutions or entertainment.  When they run across an update from someone they previously saw as helpful they will go to it with expectations of again being helped.  However, when they open the post from a trusted source and see a poorly produced video they are immediately let down and offended that the provider has just wasted their time.

The same thing goes when a consumer jumps on the internet to go to their trusted sources of experts only to see a statement addressing a political issue that goes against their option.

Disconnect and Move On

As a result, these consumers disconnect from those sources and, in many cases, will disconnect from anyone associated with the person making off centered remarks or poorly produced content.

But, back to the question..how do you tell someone that their digital marketing sucks?  

Step Forward to Help

I’m certain that there are experts in human behavior who have a few thousand words written on the subject but I have yet to find them on the internet.  So, I…who is not an expert in human behavior…would say that any attempt to tell someone they suck is going to be difficult. 

My advice would be:

• If you do not know the person, do not make any attempt to tell them they suck.  Just move on and do what the other millions of people who do not them and disconnect them from your network.
• If you know the person but are not personal friend, you may wait until the next time you see them ask what kind of feedback they are getting to the content they posted.  If they are not getting any then you could work your way into the conversation on it might be that it sucked.
• If you know the person and are personal friends or business associate then you might text them and say..Hey, we need to talk!  Beer is on me!

May Not Help

There is no certainty on how someone is going to take being told what they are posting online sucks.  Most are not aware of how they are coming across online. 

Most people will defend themselves for producing portrait smartphone videos by saying they were told they were supposed to produce them that way.  Many who feel they are a pundit when making political rants will also go on the defense by saying..Someone has to tell that idiot he is a fool.

However, many people who post awful videos or off-color political statement will heed to a close friend advice or someone they respect’s review.   That is what makes it worth telling them they suck.

There surely are a lot of people who are posting sucky content who, if told they suck, would probably stop.  One can only hope.

Maybe referring them to SyncLab Media to get help with their video-centric digital marketing strategy would help.

Let me know how I can help.