Excuse Me – Where Are Your Social Media Manners?

We’ve all had the social media friend or Facebook Page that has made us want to turn them off, right? You know the one where every post is about what they are trying to sell you. “BUY FROM ME, BUY FROM ME, BUY FROM ME!” If that is you, knock-it-off!

Social media is about being social. You wouldn’t sit down to a meal with someone and immediately ask them to buy from you, would you? The answer better be no!  We need to remember that when we are on social media sites, we are engaging in conversation. It is about building the know, like and trust so eventually the person may buy from you or at least be a good referral source.

In my training class this week I am sharing 12 tips on social media etiquette. I could probably make the list 3 times larger, but since it’s a busy month I will keep it short.

12 Tips on Social Media Etiquette:

1. Use your real name. People like to engage with real people.

2. Use a current headshot of YOU (not your child, husband, dog, niece, etc.).  As author & blogger Chris Brogan says in his 2011 blog: An Insider’s Guide to Social Media Etiquette, “It feels creepy friending a four year old kid (avatar).”

Also, on another note about having a picture: I don’t follow anyone that doesn’t have a picture. I don’t trust that the person is real &/or question if it is a spammer/phisher trying to gain access to me, my computer and my network. Remember, people like to connect with people, so put a good quality headshot of you on your profile.

3. Set your privacy settings to control who can tag you. Facebook offers the opportunity for you to review any post that you are tagged in before it appearing on your timeline.

4. You are not obligated to friend or connect with anyone. In fact, it is a great idea to use some discernment here. If you keep your personal and professional life separate, send a message to the person asking for the connection and tell them that you prefer to connect with clients in a different way on LinkedIn and/or your Facebook Page.

5. When asking to make a connection, don’t use the default settings (for instance on LinkedIn). Include a personal note with the request that may include where you met the person, who you are, and why you wish to connect with them.

6. Be authentic.

7. Listen first and then join the conversation. Be sure you are always adding value.

8. Never spam. Ever.

9. Don’t repeat the same post on ever network within a 10-minute span. Change it up a bit and spread it out.

10.  Instead of selling, why not share with your followers why they should buy from you; what other followers got from buying from you; or some other relational fact.

11. Promote others.

12. Modesty is a beautiful thing. Don’t retweet and share every nice thing someone says about you and/or your company. Thank the person for the testimonial and leave it at that.

Your CANnon Do® for this week is to find a way to unselfishly promote someone else.

What other social media etiquette tips do you have?

Hanging Out with Google+

Last week I participated in a Google+ HIRL (Hangout In Real Life) event.  This event provided the opportunity for locals in the Kansas City area to get mini-sessions on how to set-up and use Google+.  If you would like to see more about it, follow the hashtag #LearnG+KC.  In case you don’t know what a hangout is, Google+ has this really cool feature where you can “hangout” with 10 people – share your screen and/or documents and see each person FOR FREE.  (Think Skype on steroids with free features.)

This real life hangout allowed 100+ people to gather, network & learn together.  What worked for this event was that it provided a social atmosphere – food, drink, & networking along with a give-back to SafeHome  (entrance fee was $5 or 5 canned goods for the non-profit).  According to recent stats on G+, the site is 63% male, but this HIRL attracted women along with the men.

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Trying to Out-Wit Facebook’s EdgeRank

Do you have a Facebook Page for your business?  How are you feeling about your “number of people who saw this post” count?  It seems like everyday we are needing to find new and different ways to outwit Facebook’s EdgeRank.  (For those of you not familiar with Edgerank – it is the algorithm that Facebook uses to determine who gets to see your Facebook post.)

For a while, the visual-media aspect of loading an image was given more exposure, but more and more studies over the past few months have indicated that text-only posts (no images or links) are gaining more views.  The question becomes, what do I post to get the most exposure without having to pay for it?

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You Never Get a Second Chance to Make A First Impression

Remember that phrase by Will Rogers? What first impression are you giving with your profile picture on your social media sites? In my opinion it is wise to use a professional photo (the same one) across all of your profiles.  For many business owners, we are our brand. Many people know my name better than they know the name of my business, Cannon Social Media Solutions.  If someone was going to look me up via social media, if they put in Vicki Cannon or Vicki S. Cannon, they will know that they got the right person if they have met me before, because my photo looks like me.  If the person has not met me, but is going to meet me in a public place, they would be able to see my profile picture and know who to be looking for.

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Twitter and Hurricane Sandy

As I ponder what to write about this week, I can’t help but think of all the people on the East Coast that are still without power, food, shelter, homes, gas for their cars and so much more due to Hurricane Sandy.   It warms my heart to hear stories like that of  Mayor Cory Booker from Newark, NJ (@CoryBooker) delivering diapers & blankets, checking on family members, opening his home for DVD watching parties and more. He is tireless in how he has been helping the folks of Newark. His main source of communication?  Twitter. Yes, people are tweeting the mayor and he is responding (many times in person).

On Monday, November 05, 2012 his efforts have been noted by so many, but it even caught the eye of an Irishman.  Read the tweet engagement here.

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Squirrel – How to Resist the Shiny Object Syndrome of Social Media: 5 Questions To Ask Before Adding Or Jumping To A New Social Media Site

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, Delicious, Tumblr, WordPress, Instagram, flickr, Pinterest, Google+, MySpace, LittleMonsters…the names go on and on and will continue to grow from year to year.  How do you have an effective social media marketing plan and still keep up?

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Lurking, Connecting or Not Connecting on LinkedIn

The other evening I was at a BNI (Business Networking International) social event and had a conversation with someone that had connected with me via LinkedIn.  I had told him that I was impressed with his willingness to extend himself to our group.  He then told me that someone in the group had messaged him back after his request and wanted more information from him about connecting.  I had to smile because the other person had taken one of my social media training classes and was doing exactly what I suggested!

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Social Media is supposed to be Social!

You know the person or the business as soon as you open your Facebook News Feed.  The one that posts on and on about me, me, me and how you should buy, buy, buy.  Social media is first and foremost, SOCIAL!  Think of it as a party.  You walk into a party and go up to someone, what is the first thing you say?  “Buy from me!”  Uh, I don’t think so.  Everyone would look at you like you are insane, back away and would run the other direction.  That could be one lonely party.  Raise your hand if you’ve hidden someone from your news feed, unfollowed them or unfriended them because all they did was try to sell you something?  My hand is up too (kind of hard to type one handed though!).

Let’s be social on social media sites.  Remember the 8 to 1 or 10 to 1 ratio.   For every 1 blatant ad about you, give good, rich, interesting content and engage back with your connections 8 to 10 times.  Extend your hand of welcome, engage with your fans and continue to explore ways to connect.

The Beginning

Blogging.  If you’ve been following social media marketing the past few years, you hear & read about how important blogging is to your online presence.  I’ve discussed it many times with my clients, but have avoided it myself (the old method of – do as I say, not as I do!).

Here are some of my hang-ups with getting started:  What do I call the blog?  What do I write about?  What if I am boring? What if I can’t really write? Will I have time?  Who will follow?…  Sound familiar for those of you procrastinating about blogging?  These are not very good excuses for someone who tells her clients of the importance of this platform in their social media marketing plan.

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