Social Media's 10 Commandments
With the growth of social media, it's become imperative for users who want to take these services seriously to follow a few rules. Here are the top ten commandments any social media user should use.
1- The "3 p's"- Personal, professional, and passion- a third of each of social posts should be devoted to each. Too much of one of them will lead to your followers thinking you're too informal or a robot. Keep it light and interesting!
2- If you wouldn't say it out loud, don't post it- Let's say that you and I are having a cup of tea at Starbucks. Would you tell me to my face that my latest article is absolute trash and that I'm an idiot? If not, you shouldn't tweet it either.
3- Verify before retweeting- this should be a no-brainer, but many news organizations and reporters do not do this. If you think something is true, check to make sure it is. A scoop on twitter lasts only but a few seconds, so make sure you're tweeting the correct information before you click send.
4- Keep it Safe for Work- this should also be a no brainer. Tweeting graphic content or photos of yourself that you wouldn't pass around the office probably is a bad idea, unless you want to be known as the guy or girl who shared Jennifer Lawrence's nude pictures.
5- Cater to your audience, but remember everyone can see you- This one may be hard for a lot of people to work with. As an Islander blogger, I always try to cater my content to things that other Islander fans would enjoy. However, taking shots at other teams is something I very rarely do, because it can backfire and cause opposing fans to form a mob of angry tweeters. This shouldn't stop you from creating engaging content for your followers, but be mindful of other groups of people who might search for what you're tweeting about.
6- Beware conflict of interest- This applies more when you're working for an organization, but this should still be avoided. If you are a reporter for Fox, you should avoid talking about how much you can't stand their coverage of the Middle East. Generally a bad idea.
7- Be transparent- No, this does not mean that everyone is interested in seeing what you ate for lunch. What this does mean is that you should be yourself and be honest. It gives people a better sense that they're actually interacting with someone.
8- Don't steal tweets- Anyone who's ever written a paper should know that plagiarism is bad. The same goes for tweets. It's fine to share someone else's tweet, but just don't take their words and make them your own. Take this as an example of what can happen to your one, innocent tweet.
9- Have a voice that isn't offensive- This kind of goes hand in hand with being safe for work and catering to your audience. It's perfectly fine to be yourself and to express yourself, since that's what social media is for. However, once you begin to offend people, you've gone to far.
10- Post responsibly- Again, this should go in hand with the last few things mentioned. Same way you wouldn't go around yelling random information at people, you shouldn't do that online either.
11 (Bonus round!)- Don't delete tweets/posts- And we're in extra point territory! This may be one of the most important parts, so don't glance over this. By deleting a tweet or post, you look like you're trying to hide something. Better off to quickly apologize for the error and move on. Obviously, the exception to this would be a typo in which case it is acceptable to delete and repost your tweet.
