Etiquette – Social Media Style

Etiquette Social Media Style

American Express does a good job in spreading the word about social media, so the open forum link is well worthwhile in maintaining and checking things out. I came across an article “5 Often-Forgotten Social Media Etiquette Rules” which I think is valuable, if not certainly a great reminder of etiquette social media style.

Here are the big five as noted by Jean Aw.

1. Offer something of value – I can’t say enough about this today, with so much going on the offer is critical and your success depends on it. Don’t be fooled the information age is over; it’s all about the offer or the value. This applies to your website, social media, email marketing and conventional marketing.
2. Observe someone’s habits before engaging them – Watch your step, begin slowly and feel out your people. We suggest you stick to the big five (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube & Slideshare). People are pretty good at telling you how they feel, but don’t over post anywhere, funnily enough people can have your posts blocked and you’ll never be aware. This is a one click business, good & bad.
3. Stop and think before you complain – The golden rule, it’s OK to call people or firms out, in fact it’s very effective. That being said, people want good and positive posts generally, so keep the complaining to a minimum. We’ve had a good example; our Capital One BlackCreek Summer Music Festival Collection facebook page has had trouble gathering likes.
4. Be thoughtful about how you react to criticism – I’ve written previously, expect criticism. Simple really, not everyone is going to like, accept or agree with your thoughts, never have never will. Social media is the same; people are going to give you their thoughts. You can certainly respond, but we suggest that you hear a complaint three times prior to answering. If you were wrong, admit it. Dale Carnegie’s rules are a good guide in this space.
5. Make your style clear and obvious – I’m not fully agreeing with this point. I’m of the opinion that social media is about letting it all hang out, be yourself, be who you want to be, but don’t be dishonest or try and be someone you’re not, you will very likely be called out.

One point I completely found out of line, “By now, most of us are pretty practiced at living online”. If Jean was speaking to 30 year olds I’d agree, but I’d suggest that the 40 plus group has a long way to go. I’d suggest that over 50% are NOT engaged with either facebook or twitter, a scary thought for sure.

As I noted, follow Dale Carnegies rules “How to win friends  & influence people” and you’ll be a leader online and offline.

Michael Bickerton, Raven5 Ltd, Toronto, September 2011

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