Social media is an ever so necessary media in order to conduct your business and engage socially. I thought it would be helpful to mention a few social media etiquette tips. Several, okay I must admit pretty much all of them are pet peeves of mine so be advised, be warned and well, take notice because if it bothers me, I’m sure it bothers the heck out of many others. Feel free to share and heck, feel free to add some of your own in the comments below.
Facebook Group ‘Invites’
First and foremost Facebook group ‘invites’ indicate that it’s an invitation. However,
when someone gets ‘invited, that would mean someone has the choice to participate, right? This is NOT the case with Facebook groups. It seems too often that people just add all of their friends or followers into these Facebook groups to benefit themselves and not considering the end user, the person invited. I’ve written an extensive blog on why it’s not a great idea to invite people to groups in another blog post so be sure to check that out. And for the love of all things, put your Facebook Group link in view and let others decide whether they want to be in your group, or not!
LinkedIn Connections
LinkedIn is considered a business-to-business and is similar to that of Facebook in that you engage with other people however the difference is that LinkedIn is typically more business-to-business in nature and not so socially fun. (However, that’s just me so I still add the fun. lol) However, when you’re engaging with people or inviting people to connect on LinkedIn, you are usually doing so in a business matter.
Getting the connection – it’s in the message
So the 1st point to be made is when you request to connect with somebody you would think that one would maybe share the reason why they think the connection would be great rather than just invite invite invite invite invite. This is especially true with people that you don’t know or business owners that you wish to further communicate with or get to know. A great practice or tip would be to send this connection request via ‘Connect’ and send a message stating hey, we are in such and such group together or went to such and such school together and thought it would be great to connect with each other so that we can mutually refer, connect, engage or find some reason that benefits both parties…blah blah blah.
After the connection – build the relationship
Second, after you have connected with someone, WORK the relationship first. Why I am saying this is because it’s about connecting, building a relationship and not spamming their message inbox the minute they accept your request. I have connected with folks on LinkedIn just to get hit with a Join XYZ group or why I should use their services. Huge No No! Build a relationship first and leave your sales out of it… if you continue to provide value to them, they will see it and likely come to you. Or, provide the value, build the relationship, watch what they post THEN reach out for your sales stuff.
Make sure you are building relationships BEFORE you are pushing the sale! Click To TweetTwitter and Auto-Everything
I know this maybe be somewhat of a controversy with some, but hear me out.. then yell at me in my comments! 😉
Many find it to be beneficial to auto private message (dm) someone that connects with them but I find that they are always so salesy and I personally, don’t even look at them! I understand that you may have tools that:
- help you connect with folks
- help you respond to all new followers
- help you add folks to lists
- help you send a dm or live tweet to people who xyz
And, I get that this might be your way to initiate conversation and that’s all good and all, however…. consider this:
- when you auto dm or tweet someone, be sure you follow up or you are defeating the point of social media
- when you auto dm or tweet someone about your services, what if they offer the SAME service – FAIL!
- when you add someone to a list, be sure they aren’t on that list already?
- I’ve noticed that IFTTT doesn’t put you on the list twice, but I’ve seen where I have mentioned someone, say daily and daily I am “added to” the same list… kind of annoying, no?
- test test test your automatic stuff. I’ve seen auto responses come across all crazy, it just doesn’t make sense and that shows your followers/consumers that you didn’t take the time to test it out – FAIL!
So, however you decide, just keep in mind some of these things when you start going all automatic robo on everything.
Hashtags
Okay, the social media world has gone round and round on this one and where they are appropriate and where they are not. Let’s just say,
that in most places (social media channels) they are noteworthy (in moderation) and more so in various social platforms than others. Most places, having 1 or 2 is suffice, except on Instagram where it’s known that 20-30 is acceptable. Now, I don’t like them and they are annoying but that’s me….and likely because people are abusing them or overusing them in places they shouldn’t.
So, the point should be, consider the social media or place you are using them and consider your audience to determine whether it is ultimately appropriate for your business and how many you add.
It’s Not About You – Selling
This one is like a conglomeration of sorts… but all have to do with each other quite well. You have to remember that you are in business FOR your consumer because without them, you have a hobby!
It’s not about you
So, you have to remember that what you post and what you share are for the consumer. You need to continue to provide them with value so they will keep coming back and/or even share your value to their friends, families and business cohorts. Further you have to keep this in mind when you are posting your promotional stuff that it should not be all the time. Consider this – if you were to only see post only about products and services all the time and have someone else’s business shoved down the throat all the time, what would you do? BOUNCE, right? You would unfollow them and likely not use their services…. you know, like that pushy car salesman? You purposely go to a different dealership where they don’t pressure you. This leads to how you sell…
Don’t over sell
Keep in mind that you are a consumer and you don’t like a business, product or service being shoved down your throat, so keep that in mind when you are posting and sharing to continue to provide value but to offer up your services or products. It shouldn’t be the 1st priority but it should be present!
Tagging and Appreciation
There are two sides of this equation so hear me out. When you are overselling or trying to get others to see what you are doing, on your personal page, you may think that you must tag others. This is like spam, in my opinion, in that you are tagging them because YOU believe they need to see something. Now, that person gets notified for every post on that image or post. How RUDE! This is done purely for your benefit.
When you see someone do good or you are wanting to share an appreciation for a person or client and you share how awesome they are, you may tag them in a post. This is done to share about that person and thank them or appreciate them for something they did. This is more like a mini review and done purely for their benefit.
Do you see the difference? Be sure you aren’t tagging folks for them to see something you want them to see for your benefit but feel free to give shout outs about other people or businesses who are doing good things!
Be sure you are tagging folks or businesses on social media for the right reasons. Click To TweetLast minute thoughts
It’s important that you consider your consumers and work to continue to provide them value. Remember that you are a consumer to someone and what you would want to see.
- Think of the Golden Rule – do unto others as you want done unto you.
- Be sure when folks do things for you that you reciprocate to them.
- Don’t forget to check over your content for accuracy, misspellings and proper grammar.
I hope this is been beneficial and providing you a few tips about what to do and not to do on social media and give you a little insight on what you can do better. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to discuss any of the above or anything as it relates to social media and how to do social media better. Don’t forget about my Facebook Video Series which teaches you how to run your business on Facebook with step by step videos on how to do it ALL.
If you have some pet peeves or social media etiquette fouls.. let me know in the comments below!
~Kristen
Great advice, once again, Kristen. I’m with you on the hashtags. Wouldn’t things be easier if everyone remembered the Golden Rule in all aspects of life? It’s hard to go wrong when you apply that.
Yield to the Golden Rule.. always, right!? Thanks Tami!
This is a little something everyone should read before they dive into the deep end on social media.
OH yes.. I would agree 100% Christy. Thank you!
Great post Kristen! Oh how I wish people would follow the golden rules. 🙂
Do unto others as you want done unto you.
Be sure when folks do things for you that you reciprocate to them.
I am in total agreement with you on the Facebook groups. It is always such a shock when I am added to some group without being asked! It is backward thinking for sure. Thanks for your insight.
You are right Anne, it is completely backwards… how about hey, let me know about it… then I can decide to join it or not. URGH
I am an easy goer on rules and for sure do my best on etiquette – I make mistakes too. Thanks, Kristen, for the ideas and rules to consider for best engagement.
We all do Teresa.. but it’s all in the intent too!
Great article, and needed. I know I am still learning some of the etiquette rules of the various social media channels, so this applies to me. Although, I find I am doing pretty good:) It is a whole new world out there, and I just learned from my millennial son that “K” is not good etiquette – have to say “OK”. My was response was OK in all caps K:) Trying to keep up . .
That’s funny Robin, I am sure you are better off than you think!
Hello ,
Good article Kristen Appreciate your knowledge and the reason we tag is for business thanks for sharing the etiquette. ALways a pleasure learning from you. Thank You!
Lori English
Thanks Lori.
Hey Kristen,
Great post on social media etiquette! Loved the tip on FB groups! How many times have I got added to groups WITHOUT my permission??? TONS! LOL….people need to realize that social media is all about building those all important R-E-L-A-T-I-O-N-S-H-I-P-S and sharing value!
Thanks so much for sharing the importance of social media etiquette!!
You got it Joan… yea.. it’s sad that folks don’t get that an invite offers a choice and regardless the type of Facebook group… it still needs to be a choice!
A great post that I really resonate with Kristen. Yes, having someone add me to a Facebook group that I don’t even know or have no interest in, is always surprising to me. And, I’ve never understood the auto tweets when you follow someone on twitter…I also rarely look at what they are offering either. As far as hashtags I like them in moderation on Twitter and even on FB. I don’t know if they connect more people to my posts on FB, as I’ve heard both sides of the conversation on that. Do undo others…absolutely the only Golden Rule I would hope others are living by too!
Yes Bev… you go all of my main points… thanks for the comments!
I am happy you brought this up, Kristen. I hate those Twitter auto-DMs, and Facebook invites to join groups. I sometimes spend my weekends trying to leave groups and hoping not to annoy those who added me without my knowledge.
I get invited to a group and 9/10 of the time, I leave automatically and then auto dm’s.. I don’t even LOOK at them… I feel you Apolline!
Such great tips and huge pet peeves of mine also. I don’t ever log into LinkedIn anymore because the SPAM, holy moly talk about hurt your eyes! Value and relationship building is definitely the way to go.
I still log into LI but luckily don’t get the spam you do.. however, I get my fair share and it stinks! Thanks April
There are so many great ideas here. Engaging with our new followers is really the key, right? But without overdoing it with trying to sell something. I still have a auto message for new followers on twitter but social oomph suggested I add a question as part of the message. That actually worked for awhile. I got responses? But lately nothing so I think I will turn the auto message off. Thanks for the reminder
Yea… some auto dms might work if you are having a targeted message… but I am getting most of those who are in MY industry who are auto messaging me about their services.. ummm, I do the same thing! Irritating Alene.
So agree about the auto DM’s on Twitter. If new followers send me a personal message, even only a hello, I reply, but I do not reply to auto DM’s. I find it so annoying and lazy to people to send auto DM’s on Twitter thinking you will go and follow them on IG, FB and look at their products on FB without having had no conversation with them. Twitter is all about conversation, and still there are so many who has not understood it possibilities.
Hashtags should be used with thought behind it too, and it is so easy to read up on how hashtags work on the different channels. Still not many bother to do so.:-)
And it is really about You, i.e. the client, fan, person in front of you. Still many have not realized that.
Good article 🙂
You are so right Kata… they just don’t get it! I don’t even look at my dms these days as they are flooding with spam (auto dms)
Awesome tips, Kristen. It’s funny that people need reminders about things that sometime seem so basic, but somehow, online, we do! Who would invite someone to a party and then RSVP on their behalf as well?! It sounds ludicrous , but that is what people are doing when they add me to a group without my consent! Online is the new wild west!
You got that right Reba… I love your analogy about RSVP’ing you for the party, for you!
Once upon a time, you had to buy mailing lists as a hit or miss way of reaching your market. If you weren’t interested, the mailer got tossed. You had to figure on only reaching 1% of your mailing list. Granted, we exponentially can reach greater numbers today, but the delete key works the same way as the tossed mailer. You hit the nail on the head with it all being about relationships.
Mailing lists are certainly another breed Joyce… but you got the point. 😉
“Many find it to be beneficial to auto private message (dm) someone that connects with them but I find that they are always so salesy and I personally, don’t even look at them!”
…and then…
“when you auto dm or tweet someone, be sure you follow up or you are defeating the point of social media”
Amen to that Ms. Wilson!
I can top that though. I’ve personally responded to most every message I’ve gotten, even if it’s obvious it’s automated.
I don’t know how many that is, but let’s say hundreds. What do I respond with? Depends on the message.
Sometimes it’s a question about their services, sometimes it’s a question about their message, sometimes it’s just saying something like, “Hey, that sounds pretty cool, let’s keep in touch!”.
To date, of those that I’ve replied to, I’ve gotten less than a dozen responses.
To me, that’s defeating the purpose! If you’re (generally speaking) going to send a message, automated or not, and someone responds…RESPOND!
In my mind, that’s an opportunity you (again, in the general sense) just squandered! I mean…have we actually gotten so lazy that true interaction is dying? Are we all just “auto responding” to each other these days?
Sorry for the rant, I feel much better now. 🙂
Nooooo James.. I totally appreciate the rant because I totally agree with you and feel you on it. I stop even looking at my dms because they are just that.. and I have replied to a few of them just for fun….that and canned, garbage emails – the ones that aren’t sent from an autoresponder that you can’t opt out of but the ones that are sent from their personal “business” email asking to host blogs for you or use their service or whatever. I, like you… have responded to say.. hey, if you want a real email marketing system, I can totally help you out with that.. you know.. and nothing, sad but funny… mostly sad!