Five Rules of Thumb for Social Media Etiquette

Over the past few weeks, I’ve focused in on a collection of social media campaigns for Bravo Group clients.  Previously, I believed to have an understanding of the indisputable value of social media.  After all, being a twenty-something college kid, everyone seems to be tugging at the reigns of social communications.  But, it really wasn’t until this internship that I began to understand that a company, organization, or individual could make significant gains by simply maintaining an effective presence in the realms of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Across a variety of industries and individuals, I began to realize that there are common threads that tie together a successful social media presence.  After all, it seems that well-groomed tweets and posts carry a significant weight when it comes to forming a company’s public image.  After consulting a variety of lucrative Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, I have gathered an idea of social media etiquette.  Best part of my finding?  These simple-to-follow rules for maintaining professional accounts can double as a guideline for freshening up your personal accounts!

So in light of the June 30th celebration of National Social Media Day, below are 5 rules of thumb for running a successful social media campaign:

1. Consider the time.  Have you ever wondered why no one favorited your latest tweet during your lunch hour? Well, after consulting a variety of PR pages, here are the times to consider when you are ready to post on social media:

• Twitter

Best times: Weekends 1:00-3:00 pm

Worst times: 8:00pm-8:00am

• LinkedIn

Best times: 7:00-8:30am, 5:00-6:00pm

Worst times: Monday and Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm

• Facebook

Best times: Weekdays 6:00-8:00am and 2:00-5:00pm

Worst times: Weekends 10:00pm-4:00am

Read up more on the importance of social media and timeliness: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232969

2. Call your following to action.  This idea is in line with Bravo’s strategic philosophy of mobilizing audiences to action.  Basically, social media is all about engagement.  So be mindful of your word choice.  Does it reach out and grab your audience?  More importantly, does it motivate your audience to respond?

3. Build relationships.  Use the golden rule, “Treat others the way your want to be treated,”  in all things relating to social media. That means if you want other people to engage with your post on LinkedIn or share your clever tweet, you have to respond/share/like other accounts, too.

4. Write in good taste.  You should have a specific audience in mind when you are posting.  Be aware of who is in your Facebook or Twitter circle.  If the post is not appropriate for all of your friends/colleagues/family members, think twice before hitting that button that will share it with the world.  Also, it is essential to note, that even with privacy settings in tact, there are some posts that you can never take off of the internet.  Be conscious of it.  Who knows what a company may be looking at before they decide if you are the right fit for that job opening?

5. Use a clear voice.  Be cognizant of targeting a specific audience.  Think of the tone and voice your account should have and match it- every single time.  Also, try to work against those tendencies of being too vague, emotional or long-winded.

Aly Bartolomei

Bravo Group, Wayne Intern

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