In the digital age of technology, social media has become one of the medium that is used for people to have their social interaction. Whether you use social networks for business, pleasure, or both, social media manners can play a huge role in the way you comes across. While having the lack of paralanguage understanding and almost non-existent boundaries within the virtual world, one should always maintain a good etiquette in interacting with other people online. We will tell you a proper way of etiquette in using the social media. So here’s the Do’s and Don’ts of social media interactions:
The Do’s
- Use a proper language. Whether it’s interacting with a friend, or a person in a higher position, always maintain a proper language.
- Use kind words. When replying to any texts, tweets, posts, or comments, be sure to put on some nice words. You never know if one could need it to brighten up their day 🙂
- Know your boundaries. Boundaries are important because they set the basic guidelines of how you want to be treated. Respecting boundaries can ensure that relationships can be mutually respectful, appropriate, and caring.
- Be self-centered in small doses. Even if you understand you’re not the center of the universe, your social media presence could be singing a different tune. Before you post, tweet, or share anything, think about how others might interpret it – will it be perceived as insightful and informative, or crass and boring?
- Try to avoid unnecessary fights or wars. Proving a point is not always a good thing. Some people just don’t like the truth to be shoved on their face. If you see people starts to react aggressively on your statements, reply them with informative details politely and back off immediately.
- Avoid over-sharing. Your social media feeds shouldn’t read like an inner monologue. Occasionally sharing what your cat’s up to or how awesome dinner was last night is fine. But over-sharing – as in posting your cereal choice every morning – is the quickest way to lose your friends and followers. Even if you don’t use your accounts for professional purposes, your social presence is a big part of your personal brand. You want your brand to be interesting, engaging, and representative of your best characteristics. You don’t want to dilute it with lots of irrelevant posts.
The Don’ts
- Disrespect a person. It doesn’t matter if you’re not in the mood. That doesn’t give you the license to disrespect other people. Especially if you’re interacting with a person that’s on a high position.
- Boast your personal life. Having a good life feels so good and doesn’t you feel like sharing it to the whole world? While it may leave you with a feeling of satisfaction and happiness, boasting on your personal life online might get you in trouble. People who see your posts or watch your videos might feel jealous or lose confidence upon seeing your posts.
- Mix business with pleasure. While some use social networks for works or themselves, the latter can cause you trouble if you’re not careful with the content you choose. If your job requires you to maintain a social media account with your name on it, don’t use it to talk about where you’re going clubbing tonight, or to share photos of your new kitten. Keep separate accounts for this type of engagement. If the handles of your personal and business accounts are similar, clearly indicate which account is which in the about section. To soften the blow of questionable content, attach a disclaimer, such as “All views expressed are my own,” to your personal Twitter and Facebook accounts.
- Don’t be reactive. Celebrity Twitter wars are fun to watch, but avoid getting sucked into your own social media arguments. From behind a screen, a fight’s consequences seem less immediate, and many people are willing to go toe-to-toe online in ways they’d never dream of doing face-to-face. If you hash things out on social media, your words and actions can be saved and dredged up down the line. So be extra careful.
Social media has tremendous power, so it’s important to follow proper etiquette when you engage with other users. From avoiding extensive self-promotion, to maintaining a respectful sense of humor, these are simply the modern twists of old-school etiquette. But the social media world moves way faster than the offline world, so it’s critical to think about the effects your words, pictures, and videos have before sharing them with hundreds or thousands of your peers. Plus, the netizens aren’t always quick to forgive 😉
For more additional details on social media etiquette, check it out on the embedded video below