This week I received a media inquiry from a HARO - Help a Reporter Out. One of the reporters was asking for feedback about what not to do on social networks. I can think of a million things not to do - especially on a personal profile - but I started thinking about what businesses and organizations should and shouldn't do when using social media.
From a business perspective, here are a few key items to consider:
- Don't always talk about yourself or constantly try to sell your products/services. You should position yourself as a thought leader and expert in your field - a "trust agent" as Chris Brogan says.
- Don't talk negatively about your competition, people or other businesses – again, position yourself positively as a leader in the industry but don't bash someone while doing it. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
- Write grammatically correct and spell correctly. Don’t use profanity.
- Talk or blog as yourself, not about yourself. No one cares about what you are doing every second of the day.
- Don’t send automated messages when someone follows you on Twitter. It’s not personalized, it’s a waste of time and it fills up people’s inboxes.
- Don’t send/schedule your Twitter and Facebook messages to go out all at the same time. This clogs up news feeds and people will stop paying attention and unsubscribe.
- Be honest and authentic. Don’t ignore negative feedback. Address it head on. The more you ignore it, the worse it can get.
- Communicate and respond. If someone posts a question, idea or a comment – respond in a timely fashion. If your social network sits idle, you will lose credibility and trust.
What other things do you suggest?
