Have you noticed the number of spam flavored emails you are getting from your LinkedIn contacts? If not getting any, you are lucky. I will have to admit the ones I am getting are mostly from a few of the hundreds of golf business people I have in my contact list. Since I do service the golf industry I recently reached out to one of the lost souls to learn more about their thinking. Some of the remarks I received were very alarming and indicates a number of issues related to what these newbies to the internet are being told as the correct way to obtain business online.
The remark of most concern I received from the reply email I sent to one of my spammer contacts explained the root cause or attitude these spammers have…
“.. how else am I going to get people to buy my product if I do not send them an email? They sure are not coming to me. I was told to get on LinkedIn and connect to people and then send them all emails to my product line.”
As you can see, there are a lot of misguided people on LinkedIn and even more coming online each day who are falling for very bad advice on how to market the internet. Most of these businesses actually have a great product and would server a portion of the golf industry very well if they were to use more acceptable methods of social media. However their use of spamming people does not give them the chance to become successful or to bring to the market’s attention what they offer. They get blocked or kicked out of social networks for the action they take.
It some other conversations I have had over the last year with people who respond back to me shows there is also a Old School Marketing mind-set being adapted to online promotions. Here is a statement one of the old school golf businesses made to my inquiry on why they bulk emailed their entire LinkedIn contact list with their very questionable golf business opportunity…
“..I use direct mail campaigns offline that results in limited success. Using the same technique online is much easier and cheaper and I am getting a small percentage of people contacting me as a result. I will take the chance of being blocked as a spammer. I can always create another online ID and then do it again. You might want to mind your own business.”
As you see, there are a few people who are very proud to be spammers since the small percentage of responses they get from their spam emails must be profitable. However, it is the larger percent of the people who get these unwanted emails who’s negative thoughts towards that business’ unorthodox marketing methods that hurts all of the other businesses in that industry.
Why so many businesses fight using effective method of social media is a true mystery. In a few of the conversations I have had with some of the old school marketers coming online I have learned their attitude towards social media is negative. Remarks like…
“..socializing with people one-on-one to get business connects is too slow.” “Social Media takes too much manpower to maintain and has little ROI”.” “Finding the consumer who is going to buy my product through social networking is not worth the effort.”
…really show there are many, many business people in the golf industry who still do not understand that marketing online has changed to a social based style.
The golf industry really is having a hard time staying afloat in this economy which is forcing many of the smaller golf businesses to take on spamming as, more or less, a last resort. This is very unfortunate and is needs to change to keep this negative approach to marketing from reflecting poorly on the rest of the golf industry. The challenge will be how to get across to the businesses who choose to take the low road to marketing. Maybe more exposure to the problems spamming in the golf industry is causing will push many of these golf businesses to seek professional help.
One can only hope that with more people replying back to spammers to stop they will see the need to change. Let me know how I can help.
Patti Blackstaffe says
Interesting article, I wrote back to one of my spammers who not only spammed the Linkedin account but also sent 3 email a week out advertising his product. When I said that I was going to have to remove the linkedin connection here was his reply:
Every email I send has an opt-out option with is required by law. My reason to be here on Linked-In is to get exposure for my business, which I expect is the reason most people are here. I also try to use and refer those who do the same for me. Is that not why you are here too?…That is how networking works. I am sorry you found that to be a problem.
The first problem was that when I had tried to unsubscribe, it never worked… I had tried 3 times and always the emails kept coming in. The second issue was that I was added to the newsletter without being asked. My feelings are that newsletters should be “Opt-In” rather than a forced “Opt-out”. The Third issue was that the “news” was neither informative at all, it was a sales sheet with the best deals of the day – there was nothing there other than something at a price to lure me into wanting to read them. I finally had to blacklist the newsletter.
When I am being interrupted in my tight time-line and busy work-day to deal with something I had never intended to have in the first place it seems to me the loss is at his end… I will never be a customer with him. However, I might have been somewhat interested if his product was actually a target I was interested in and he engaged me in conversation and began to build a relationship. When that happens I am happy to redirect someone to a target audience as a connection.
Thanks for sharing the great article today!
mrbusinessgolf says
Patti,
I hate to hear that others are running into these people who do not have a clue how to use LinkedIn or other social networks. Not sure what Law the guy was referring to..another misguided individual who thinks the Opt-Out on emails gives him permission to spam people.
Hopefully they get what they are asking for that LinkedIn does so well..Blocked For Spam.
RexDixon says
Spam is a bigger than “just stop this or that spammer” issue. It’s growing more every day, and just when you think you have stopped a spammer, they figure out a new scam to get you once again.