My second talk at SEMKonferansen in Oslo, Norway, was about SPAM in social media. I have studied a lot of spam tactics over the years as spammers have a tendency to pick up new technologies, loop holes and other such methods very fast. I learn from them, adopt their inventions and use the triggers for my own “white hat” campaigns.

I used to work with spam before it was made illegal in Sweden. It was a lot of fun and it taught me to always find a simpler way of doing things. Some spam works, other doesn’t. I never suggest that anyone should actually spam but I always tell my clients when and how it is used in the industry. I see it as my responsibility to highlight the benefits as well as the risks. For most brands, the risks are too great. However, for smaller product websites, affiliates and/or private enterprises it has its perks and should not be left off the table.

I know it is kind of controversial to say what I just said, but I work for Honesty and thus I cannot be else than truthful about why I go around town presenting spam techniques. I should also say that none of my active clients endorse, use or even want me to discuss spam tactics with them. I promise to tell you if anyone of them do in the future (seriously.. I will tell you.. as you’ll find out anyhow…)

Some choose to discuss things in new terminology in order not to look bad. They call it seeding or link catalogs or paid social media. I choose to call things what they are. I say words like cheating and spam, just cause the methods are not available to everyone.

So, to clarify. Do I promote spam – NO. Do I use it for my current clients – NO. Have I previously used it – YES. Do I tell my clients about the effects of cheating, positive and negative – YES. I do all this because it is my job, and because I am one of the best in the world at it. Now, why do I share this knowledge? Because there is just so much that needs to be exposed in this industry of ours and I just felt like outing some of it.

Have you had a distant colleague who tried to add you on LinkedIn? Perhaps a person you do not know, and most of all didn’t know worked at the same company? Congratulations, YOU are a victim of the latest LinkedIn spam.

Virtually their tactic is like this:

1. They sign up for an account on LinkedIn
2. They compose a very short profile, usually without a picture
3. They write that they represent the same company as you do
4. They add a couple of people from that company – usually they add a couple of other spam accounts for that company, then they start adding “real people”

As people are often polite, they generally add these “as you are person I trust” invites. BUT have caution as this is one of the most dangerous types of online spam there is. As LinkedIn has grown to become one of the most trusted B2B social platforms online, it can have devastating effects if a person is able to hijack your brand by association.

The spammers often use a “ready” account (ie. an account that seems to be associated with a brand as it is connected to a lot of people from that brand) to start sales dialogues with other people. They extract important information that they then put in a CRM and sell to sales databases around the world. It is an excellent business as the Cost Per Lead in some industries can be ranging between 20 USD to 500 USD.

I hope you take care of yourself out there

//Jesper

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