10 Things You Shouldn’t Do On Social Media

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram – you know I think Social Media is an important tool for any business. But you can shoot yourself in the foot just as easily as you can help your business succeed if you make the wrong decisions about how you use it.

Here’s a Top 10 List of things you shouldn’t do on your chosen Social Media platforms, if you really want them to work in your favor and not against you.

1. If you maintain personal Twitter, Facebook or other accounts, where you may be a little less “buttoned-up”, don’t link them to your business accounts.
2. Don’t express extreme views about money, religion, or politics (unless of course you want to foster a business identity of extremism, which may actually be your goal).
3. Don’t let your content to sales message ratio get out of balance. Different platforms may call for different proportions, but it’s safe to say that no more than one out of every six or seven postings on ANY platform should be a “sales pitch”.
4. Don’t fight with customers. Even if you disagree, be respectful in public and resolve problems privately.
5. Don’t post a message without performing a spell check. Nothing says “I do sloppy work” like a message with a misspelled word. That goes for grammar and punctuation as well. Hire an editor if you need help with this.
6. If you include links in your content, don’t just link to your own website or blog. Celebrate the good work other people are doing as well by including links to their resources.
7. Consistency is more important than quantity. Don’t bounce all over the place when you schedule your Social Media sharing. Let listeners come to count on hearing from you.
8. Don’t criticize competitors unless you want everyone to know that you are fighting them openly, and if that’s the case make it clear why you are doing so.
9. Don’t share insider information about your business.  Not only is that ill-advised, but it could be illegal.
10. The ultimate advice is always, don’t post anything to any of your accounts that you don’t expect will be shared by anyone, anywhere, at any time. That risk is always present.

Social Media giveth, and it can taketh away as well. As the sergeant used to say on Hill Street Blues, “Be careful out there”.