Etiquette in social media is very important since it can make you or break your business. The way you conduct yourself through social media channels is a direct reflection on your business. Whether you’re looking to establish yourself as a topic expert or build brand awareness for a business you must learn the basics of how to conduct yourself online. I have enlisted an easy to follow guide on Social Media Etiquette.

Social Media Etiquette

1. Do Not Sell Or Pitch: Social media is a great platform to connect and engage with others. If all your tweet leads to a sales pitch, people eventually will unfollow you. The objective of using social media is for your audience to be engaged and look forward to your next post. I am not against pitching or selling when its done tasteful. I normally pitch products and services that I have used and find useful for my readers.

2. Difficult People: If you find yourself dealing with someone rude, kill them with kindness. This is the best way to deal with difficult people. Treating rude people with a professional attitude will always help you keep their negativity from overcoming you.

3. Get To Know Your Audience: Your audience is the lifeblood of your business and knowing  who they are will help take your business to the next level. Defining your audience will help define your target market.

Benefits of Getting To Know Your Audience:

• Speak to your target customer directly
• Join your audience conversations
• Publish quality content
• Find online influencers in your niche
• Never ignore someone who reaches out
• Be available to your audience
• Talk about content published by others

4. Say Thank You: I personally strive to say thank you to everyone that helps my business thrive. The power of a simple thank you to your audience cannot be underestimated. Showing appreciation produces higher levels of engagement and humility does go a long way.

5. Be Helpful: Does it pay to be nice and be helpful to others? The answer is, Yes. Listening to your readers and being helpful does help build a strong community of readership. The majority of my business comes through referrals. Being helpful is the most effective way to grow your business.

6. Dirty Laundry: Airing your dirty laundry on the Internet is a bad idea. Many people on social media like to air their dirty laundry and this could cause them to lose even their most loyal followers. It personally leaves me a bad taste in my mouth and I end up un-following and potentially blocking these individuals.

7. Be Transparent: Social media encourages for user to be transparent. You have to be authentic on social media. People want to connect with person behind the logo. Successful brands succeeds on social media because they achieve a consistent voice.

Make Sure To Exhibit:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Goals
• Expertise
• Weaknesses

8. Share Your Failures: Pointing out to your readers your share of failures will help your blog readers connect with you in a higher level. Talking about your failures and lessons learn can let your readers know your transparent and a real person behind the brand.

9. Don’t Be Needy: Do not become the needy social media users. If someone unfollow you on social media resist the urge to ask them why they opted out. Be creative when trying to gain user but don’t ask your followers to retweet or share your content.

10. Poor Grammar: An important reminder for everyone on social media to always check your grammar before pressing send. I personally slow down and read my tweet out loud before posting. However, if you make a mistake don’t blow it out of proportion it happens to the best of us.

11. Social Media Profiles: Social media networks provide a profile or bio where you provide a brief explanation of who you are or your brand. Unfortunately, many people fail to complete their bio’s. The bio is a window into your brand and personality. Your bio is considered your elevator pitch many people will make an inform decision whether to follow you nor not after reading your profile.

12. Don’t Be Negative: If you are having a bad day don’t have an emotions outburst on your social media channels. No one wants to be associated with a negative individual.

13. Reply To Comments: When a person takes time to leave a comment you should always reply back. Make it your objective to always show your reader, how you value their feedback. Make sure to acknowledge your readers and you will be rewarded with a great online community.

Benefits of Replying To Comments:

• Build Relationships
• Gain Readers
• Create An Online Community
• Build Authority
• SEO Benefits

[box type=”info”]I hope these social media etiquette guide helps you conduct yourself in a professional setting. The Internet is growing at a rapid pace and everything online can be blown out of proportion or become viral within a couple of hours. Following this guide above will help you avoid in making the same mistakes many brands, celebrities, and people have already partake in. Join my newsletter to receive free online marketing tips and tricks directly into your mailbox. [/box]

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