By the time we reach a certain age, most of us can recognize when a superficially friendly person is approaching us with an ulterior motive. You’ve probably felt the tingle of recognizing someone else’s agenda, whether you’re walking down the street and some clipboard-holding college student trills, “HEY, how ARE you, I LOVE that shirt!” or you’re hitting delete on an email from someone claiming to be your long-lost Nigerian cousin.<\/p>\n
Prior to the advent of e-commerce, the line between advertising and editorial–or even innocent conversation–was easier to recognize (except for your sister-in-law the Amway<\/strong><\/a> rep, of course). We knew the beats of the more overt manipulations of traditional advertising and could respond accordingly.<\/p>\n Most companies have some aspect of social media in their marketing strategy. They may even employ an expert–self-proclaimed or legitimate–to help them craft what they hope is a brilliant, subtle strategy that will take their company straight into customers’ hearts and Facebook<\/strong> newsfeeds. However, unless your plans are very subtle indeed, you may be doing more harm than good.<\/p>\n