Social media engagement is a necessity to my role in the marketing universe. Some of you may laugh because I am known to go check out of Facebook and LinkedIn periodically. My Twitter profile is a bold expression of who I am, but sadly only a couple of actual Tweets. At this writing.
After years of “lurking” and making a few social media mistakes myself, I offer a few of my own:
- Before you “Like” a post, read it. I recently found myself liking a post that seemed interesting on LinkedIn. Upon further study, I realized it contained an expletive.
- Connect wisely. I often receive invitations to connect from people I don’t know or are connected with someone in my network. Remember that clicking “accept” opens you up to solicitations. It also exposes everyone in your network to the same unwanted attention.
- Manage your settings. Most of us have settings that automatically post our work anniversaries, birthday, when we update a board tenure, etc. If you don’t want the entire Facebook or LinkedIn publics to be notified when you turn the calendar on a new year, there’s a privacy setting for that.
- Be relevant. Social media is rampant with shameless plugs and solicitations. I can often spot who is trying to do business with whom – you can too. Be topical and current, and your connections list will not have the urge to flee your postings.
- Avoid political pronouncements. Please.
Blog by Carol Streckfus, President & Lead Strategist