JEM Marketing Blog

Today, almost everyone has some presence on at least one social media site. Currently, Facebook has over 1 billion users, LinkedIn has over 189 million and Twitter hit over 500 million in 2012. Even considering the fake accounts, duplicates and other scenarios, there are still a lot of people to interact with via social media.

These social media platforms each have their own guidelines, best practices, and nuances as to how to use them most effectively. Sadly, many people do not take the time to learn about these guidelines and best practices, and the result is that many people are using them not only ineffectively, but inappropriately.

Here are some common sense rules to follow, regardless of which social media platform you are using. Actually, if you really think about it, the only one you need is number one, as the rest will all follow naturally if you practice the first one.

#1 - Be Polite on Social Media

Do not say something on a social media site that you would not say if you were standing face to face with that person in a room.

#2 - Do Not Spam

It's ok to promote your products or services occasionally, but make sure that you are always offering something of value to your audience and that your offering is relevant to the forum on which you are posting.

#3 - Do Not Promote Yourself on Someone Else's Page

It is simply bad form to post something on someone else's Facebook page that promotes yourself, your company or your product or services.

#4 - Do Not Personalize Your Comments

It is fine to disagree with a comment on a page or in a forum, and to offer a different or opposing opinion, but make sure that you stay on subject and do not personalize your remarks.

#5 - Follow the Rules

Most groups on Facebook and LinkedIn have rules posted which explain what can and can't be posted or what the intent of the group is. Make sure that your post, comment or question is relevant to the group or forum where you're posting.

As a social media consultant, I have seen too many instances of people not using these simple rules in their approach to social media marketing. If you would like more information about social media, please become a fan of my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JEMmarketing and/or follow me on Twitter @JEMmarketingLI.

These days, it seems like everyone from 8 to 88 is engaged in some sort of social media.  I read the other day that in 2011 a trend developed showing a decrease in texting and a comparable increase in communicating via Facebook and Twitter.  Somewhere along the way, it has become “uncool” to pick up the phone to have a conversation with a friend, and instead we use tiny little keyboards to express ourselves.  Without even mentioning the amount of typos and the loss of most punctuation and grammar that this results in, we are losing the sense of a person’s personality, humor, sarcasm, etc. – the essence of that person which is much more evident in a phone conversation, or – dare I say it, a face to face conversation.