Social Media Do's and Don'ts: An Un-Official List

In the world of social media there are a bevvy of unspoken (or oft-spoken, in some cases) rules. Some are designated for users en masse and some are specifically for brands.

Just like the rules we were taught as children (always hold the door open for strangers, don't put your elbows on the table, say "excuse me" after your sneeze) these rules exemplify that we, as social networkers, recognize that other people inhabit these planes and we should be respectful of them.

Here's a list of the big Do's and Don'ts you should keep in mind:

• DON'T beg for likes! Posts that are solely about asking for likes come off greedy and non-caring. After all, as a brand people like your page because they like or are interested in your community, NOT how many likes you have.
  
  Ex. "We're ALMOST at 500 likes! Share our page with your friends and help us get over the hump!"
• DO create contests and competitions to help grow your audience! Asking for likes is okay, but only when you're willing to give something up for it. If your audience isn't getting something out of it, why should they bother?
  
  A simple fan gate should do the trick!
• DON'T get (too) personal! Your brand page IS NOT a place for personal opinions (unless its a page intended for people to share personal opinions, of course!) -- Sounding off on political, personal or moral issues can make more than a few people uncomfortable!
• DO encourage your FANS to get personal! Ask them questions that give insight into the type of community you're working with. Get them to tell stories and start talking! This whole thing is about getting closer to and growing an audience, after all isn't it?
• DON'T take things too personally. A little bit of constructive criticism never hurt anybody and if a fan is engaging negatively use it as an opportunity to show your other fans how helpful you can be!
• DON'T ignore ANYBODY! If posts and questions go too long without responses people will lose interest in your page. Check your page often to ensure you're not missing anything! Even if you're not that active (why not?) you should be checking in regularly! Set a reminder on your phone so at the same time every day you check all of your sites for updates.
• DO get creative! Even if it may seem like your posts have NOTHING to do with your brand, it never hurts to try something new!
• DON'T post too often (on facebook!) Save your BEST posts for Facebook and try everything else out on Twitter and Pinterest first to see if it sticks!
• DO learn how measurements and analytic's work!  What's the point in generating a buzz if you don't know what worked and when? Pay attention to who is interacting and what they're interacting with, then go from there.
• DON'T steal other people's ideas. Or at least wait a (long) while before you do! There's nothing worse than seeing a bunch of brands from the same industry doing the same thing at the same time. Epic unfollow!
• DO include your employees and customers in your social media plans! Take photos, encourage participation!
• DON'T block Facebook at work for your employees! They're not going to do much social sharing for you if they can't even access their accounts, are they?
• DO try new social sites ONCE you get an idea of how they work. Join and follow for a few weeks before you start taking part, ensure you know how it all works. Every site incorporates something different and working from that angle will give you a better long term engagement rate.
• DON'T sync your Twitter Feed with Facebook! (Your twitter posts automatically on your Facebook timeline.) This is bad. Very bad.
• DO sync your Facebook feed with Twitter. Since you're posting there less often you'll just be killing two birds with one stone.
• DON'T bash your competition! EVER! A little dig here and there, when innocent, can be funny, but throwing another brand under the bus just to make yourself look better (like posting negative reviews for other brands, or sharing news stories that shed a negative light) it will just make your brand look petty.
• DO put things in their proper places. If you're sharing customer photos every day or two, don't post them to your wall every single time, place them in their own album so people can actually find them any time. Same thing goes for varieties of products, etc.
• DON'T use your social media feeds for advertising. Most of them have their own ad management system and THAT is where your ad's go. Your feed(s) should be more content driven and less sales-driven.
• DO have some fun! Social Media is about exploring, sharing and learning, so do that!