Social Media Etiquette

A while back I had an experience that prompted me to write a blog ‘How’s that working for you.’ I do a lot of networking both face to face and online and sometimes I am just amazed at the actions and tactics of some people. Recently I had an online experience that has prompted me to muse about Social Media Etiquette. If you are just getting started with using Social Media for your business, I encourage you to research and study the proper and effective ways to use it.

Social media is the online version of working the room, and basically, all the social graces and standards that you apply to your every day interactions in face-to-face situations apply online as well.

Social media is a great tool to use in marketing and good marketing can be done through social media sites when it is done correctly. This is a great marketplace full of ideas, random thoughts, fun links and a wealth of knowledge. You can make sure your business, brand name and website shows up in this marketplace but if you do it the wrong way, you could end up blacklisted. If you break certain rules of etiquette, it’s likely you will be labeled as a spammer or even blocked and rejected by users of the site.

Here are some basic rules to keep in mind:

• Be polite and respectful
• Don't swear or be rude
• Resist the temptation to argue
• Don't be confrontational
• Help others with advice and answers to their questions
• Say please and thank you
• Extend the courtesy of responding when someone writes on your wall, @s or DMs you, or messages you
• Don't blatantly push/sell your product or service
• Avoid blatant spam of your links or products to people who you haven’t had a conversation with or don’t even know
• Don’t spam your links or products to new friends who you haven’t even talked to yet
• Don’t fill up their inbox unless they have not expressed interest in your product or service. That's called 'spaming'
• Know that you don’t have to follow or add everyone who asks you to
• Don’t expect people to add you just because you add them or send them a request
• When sending a friend request, unless it’s obvious, state who you are and why you are wanting to make a connection
• Don’t put your product advertisement in your friend request.
• Don’t put your product advertisement on their personal page unless you have asked permission first.
• Don’t use your numbers as a status symbol or verification of worth (and especially don’t brag about it)

The professional goal of social media is to build relationships that may one day turn into business opportunities. You would never walk into a restaurant, interrupt everyone's dinner, pass out your business cards, then leave. So why would you think this is acceptable online?

People do business with people they like, and the way to earn respect is to be authentic and genuine in your interactions with social media friends and acquaintances. Treat people the way that you like to be treated, and always remember that once online, it's there for good. Draft, review, and reconsider before posting. Protect your reputation.

If you hire someone to manage your social media sites, you need to be sure you are working with an experienced professional that knows proper etiquette as well and will represent you properly.

Portions of the above were taken from ‘Grow Your Company” and ‘SEO Driven’

Happy Networking Online,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
“Helping You and Your Business Look Good”

There is Room for All

Well I am sitting here in shock right now. I had sent out an email this morning to a business acquaintance who runs a very successful networking group asking if they would like to list their group on the new networking site I had recently created, NetworkNorthGeorgia.com. I received a reply saying that they were confused because there were some other sites with similar names and wasn't I a member of the some of the other sites.

Well I guess great minds think alike. Yes there are some other sites for the area with similar names and I think the creator has done an excellent job with the sites. I just now tried to log into the ones I belonged to, only to find out I have been banned.

I recently created www.NetworkNorthGeorgia.com for the purpose of listing networking groups and events. I have had a list of networking opportunities on my website for a number of years and just wanted to give people a central location for this type of information. It certainly was not my intention to do anything that would jeopardize any membership or relationship I had with any other site.

It seems because this is a NING site and my identity is for most all my Ning sites, that perhaps other sites see my universal posts as being solicitations which was not my intention.

I did not even know some of these other sites existed until a few days ago. And with the receipt of the email from my acquaintance, I checked to see which ones I was a member of, only to find out I had been banned. I feel that these sites are different, in that the goal of NetworkNorthGeorgia.com is for the purpose of listing networking groups and events not news, not public affairs, not music, fishing reports, politics, lake levels, etc.

I hope that we can come to a mutual agreement that we can both co-exist and perhaps help each other.

I'm very sorry if I did something I wasn't suppose to. So folks, if you want to see NNG grow with serious networkers and like minded business people in the North Georgia area, join yourself, list your networking groups, events, and invite others to join.

In gratitude,
Annette
Painted Lady Enterprises
"Helping You and Your Business Look Good"