7 Social Media Etiquette Rules Every Business Should Know

Social Media etiquette: it’s probably a class we should all take before creating our first social media account. There are some things that just seem like they should be common sense. But on social media, social etiquette is not always as common as we would hope. While each social platform has its rules to follow, there are still numerous individuals and businesses that may not know how to use this powerful channel properly in their internet marketing.

Social Media Etiquette 101

In this article, we’re going to share 7 social media etiquette rules every business should know:

Keep Your Business and Personal Accounts Separate

Social media is a place where people like to go to stay connected with friends and family. Do you find it frustrating when friends use their personal accounts to promote their business? If you are practicing proper social media etiquette, you will have a separate personal account and a business account. By doing this, you are honoring your friends who want to know what’s going on in your life, rather than just hearing about the latest sale your store is having.

On the other hand, when you use your business account as a personal outlet, it makes your business look unprofessional. In many cases, posts that end up on the wrong account happened by mistake. Triple check before you post to make sure you are on the correct account.

Don’t Misrepresent Your Business

While it may seem like embellishing your business on social media won’t harm anyone, ultimately people will know what’s true. Don’t use social media to give people a false view of your company. While you’re not going to inform the world about all the hardships you face or use social media as a place to vent your sorrows, represent your business with honesty. This will help build trust with your audience. Even seemingly small embellishments to make your company seem better can ultimately cast significant doubt on the integrity of your business as a whole.

Don’t Respond with Reactive Communication

Reacting in anger or frustration in our communication has never helped preserve or strengthen our relationships. This is also true on social media. If you hope to maintain healthy relationships with current or potential future customers, common social media etiquette will remind you to take a step back before giving a response.

Understandably, someone who leaves an unjust review or bashes your company is going to get under your skin. But before responding and lashing out in a comment, remember that you are representing your company. While you may feel you have every right to set them straight, your reactive answer is going to give potential customers a negative view of your company. You’re only sharing in the offender’s folly by responding with the same attitude.

Take time to calm down before responding. Handle negative comments and reviews with as much grace and kindness as possible. Make the extra effort to solve those problems well to build trust with current and future customers.

Think About Posts and Comments as Permanent

The old reminder to “think before you do” goes right along with social media etiquette. I’m sure you’ve read stories about businesses that posted something only to have that post go viral (in a negative way). And then they were mercilessly attacked for it. They may have even deleted their original post, but people saw it, shared it, maybe captured screenshots, and got the word out.

When you are posting, don’t post in the heat of emotion or passion without stopping to think. Ask yourself some questions before hitting the ‘share’ button.

• Do I really want anyone to be able to read this, including customers and potential future customers?
• Would I be comfortable if this post was reshared by people all across the internet?
• Should I be sharing this, or do I just feel like I need a place to vent?
• Is this the best or the most appropriate platform to share this?
• How will this affect the company?

Be Careful About Tagging People in Photos

Not only is this important in your personal accounts, but it also matters in your business social media. Etiquette for how you go about tagging people in photos has everything to do with the Golden Rule…treat people the way you want them to treat you. If you have photos you’ve taken of employees, people at company events, etc., get their permission first before tagging them or allow them to tag themselves. The images you’ve uploaded may not be how they want to be represented online. Respect that.

Avoid Excessive Posting

Perhaps we have all had the friend who posts multiple times throughout the day to the point where we no longer follow them on social media. Don’t allow your business social media page to break this etiquette rule. While it may seem like excessive posting could help gain visibility for your business, it’s more than likely going to do the opposite and cause you to lose followers.

According to an article from Buffer, here’s a general guideline to how frequently you should post on these social channels:

• LinkedIn: Once per day during the work week (Monday – Friday)
• Facebook: 1 to 2 times a day
• Google+: Up to 5 posts a day
• Twitter: 5 or more posts per day

Check Grammar and Spelling Before Posting

Sometimes the most embarrassing posts happen by accident. Spelling, grammatical errors, and other typos make for a great laugh. However, it’s not as fun when everyone is laughing at your business. I certainly have made my share of mistakes. Sometimes just double-checking a post can save us from major embarrassment. Grammarly is an excellent tool to help you avoid typos.

Because business social media accounts tend to be visible to the public, many more people are able to see your mistakes. And remember, if it’s funny enough, others may be resharing it. By the time you realize your mistake, it’s likely already been passed along. When you think about posts as “permanent” as we mentioned earlier, you will not think it’s too hard to take an extra minute to check grammar and spelling. Note, also, that poor grammar and spelling will make your business appear less credible to your audience.

Check out this article about hilarious typos, grammatical errors, and spelling mistakes for a good laugh.

That’s just a few social media etiquette rules businesses should follow. There are plenty more that we didn’t take time to include in this article. If there was an etiquette class for social media, what are some of the things you wish they would cover?

To learn how a web design and marketing company could help you with your business social media, contact Red Rocket Web Specialists.