Social media is a great tool to help connect people and improve lives. Yet there are some things that you shouldn’t do – at least, if you don’t want to look stupid.
Nancy Badillo is a great blogger and someone who I just found out recently is a fellow Chicago girl. This is based off an article that she wrote, and so I’m going to talk about what not to do in social media, and discuss three of her tips. Make sure your actions aren’t on this list.
Do not sell or pitch.
First thing that you’re not supposed to do in social media is do not sell or pitch. People on social media are not there to hear you talk about your product or service. This is especially true if you’re a marketer, social media person, or blogger.
[clickToTweet tweet=”People on social media are not there to hear you talk about your product or service.” quote=”People on social media are not there to hear you talk about your product or service.”]
Social media is not where you sell or pitch – that role is for your email list.
If you’ve not built an email list, you need to build an email list. That is where you’re going to make your money. Sales don’t happen on social media; they happen from an engaged and interested email list.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Sales don’t happen on social media; they happen from an engaged and interested email list.” quote=”Sales don’t happen on social media; they happen from an engaged and interested email list.”]
Don’t be needy or negative.
Social media is not the place for you to be angry, be mean, or be begging for things. Save that for the most important people in your life who actually care.
I know it’s very tempting to do it because you think that maybe you’re just going to post on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever. But on the internet, there is no eraser. If you post something there, you cannot take it back.
If you are having things going on, that’s the kind of stuff that you should reserve for off social media in real life with the people who matter to you. Speaking from personal experience, social media isn’t the place to do it.
Poor Grammar
When you post online, you are representing yourself. Since you represent yourself, you want to portray as good an image as possible.
If you were going out joining someone on a date, you’d want to look as nice and as presentable as possible. Poor grammar is like not dressing appropriately.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Poor grammar in social media is like not dressing appropriately for your date.” quote=”Poor grammar in social media is like not dressing appropriately for your date.”]
I mentioned that in social media there is no eraser, so if you post stuff with poor grammar, it’s going to stay there. So double-check before you actually post.
Hat tip to Nancy who wrote these tips. She has an amazing article where she gives out a total of 13 things that you should do to really create a great image on social media.
What other mistakes do you see in social media? What do you wish people did differently? Let me know in the comments!
