If you’re familiar with Search Engine Optimization, then you’ve likely heard the terms “white hat” and “black hat.” The white hat folks are purists who would never sell a text link or cloak text. The black hat folks throw caution to the wind and spam the heck out of the internet. That’s extremes, and of course there’s always the “grey area,” but you get what I mean.
As Social Media becomes more popular, we’re starting to see “white hat” and “black hat” techniques as well. I was talking with Marketing Don Al Scillitani yesterday about power users on Digg who get offers in the neighborhood of $5,000 to submit or vote up posts on the popular social bookmarking site. That’s very black hat if you ask me.
Then there are the stories of PR firms and companies paying people to pretend to be brand evangelists and blog favorably about brands and products. Again, very spammy, very black hat.
White Hat Social Media, like white hat SEO, is a slow process. But it has the best and most “sticky” results. Digg spikes very rarely have long lasting effects, while an organic Stumble has low bounce rates and the ability to target audiences well.
There’s a reason why “Patience is a virtue” is a proverb that has stuck around. Don’t let the immediacy and speed of modern society fueled by innovative technology trick you into tactics that will eventually backfire.