One-trick pony: (noun) a person or thing considered as being limited to only one single talent, capability, quality, etc.
Are you a “one-trick pony” regarding your posts on social media? Do you only post about one subject, virtually never posting about something else?
For an individual, when they post about just one thing it’s usually something they are passionate about and want to share that information with their connections: politics, religion, recipes, and so on. For a business, they only post about their business and the products or services they provide.
We’re all connected to someone who is a one-trick pony – and it gets old, right? I have a business acquaintance who is the marketing director for a fairly large corporation (a good contact for me!) and we’re Friends on Facebook. Outside the office, he’s passionate about stopping animal abuse – a very noble cause. However, the only thing he ever posts are stories on animal abuse, often accompanied by very graphic and disturbing photos.
Don’t get me wrong. I admire his passion, especially with such a heart-breaking cause. But, there’s only so many of those photos I can see. I hid him from my News Feed a long time ago. Maybe he’s changed what he posts and I’m missing out, but I can’t even bring myself to look at his page as it’s potentially so upsetting.
On the business side of things, we’ve all been connected with a business where their posts are all business, all the time. Even when I’m interested in the product or service, it gets boring pretty quickly.
When we talk with people face-to-face, the conversation gets pretty tedious if it focuses only on one subject. When you’re chatting with someone who is “stuck” on one topic, you usually find a way to escape fairly quickly, right? It may be a very interesting subject, but there’s only so much of just one topic that you can take!
The same is true on social media. Without going into too much detail or providing too much information, you want to post about a variety of topics so people get to know “the real you.”
For a business, I always advise following the “70/30” rule. Seventy percent of your posts should be posts that aren’t about your business! Provide information about your industry, your community, your employees and so on. Depending on what your industry is, you can also provide posts that are entertaining. For example, I sometimes share Snoopy cartoons on my Facebook Page. (Always make sure you never cross a line, though, with what may be funny to one person but insulting to someone else.) Thirty percent (or less!) of your posts can be specifically about what your business does.
Of course, you need to be more “business-focused” on a site like LinkedIn, but you can still follow the 70/30 rule without too much difficulty.
As I’m fond of saying, we work with people we know, like and trust and knowing “more” about either a business or an individual helps us to decide whether we want to work with them.
What do you do when you’re connected with a one-trick pony? Post your comments below!
