There are a lot of social media rules out there, but they really only cater to businesses, brands, and social media managers. What about writers, bloggers, and young professionals? Well, here are 5 rules that I think most new professionals can benefit from implementing.
Oh yes, keep in mind that I break these rules all of the time.
5. Show more love than you receive. Unless you’re a household name, your presence online is really just a numbers game. The more love you give out, the more people will reciprocate.
4. Use your own image as a profile. Your picture is the first thing people see when they look at your Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. It says a lot about you, probably more than you know. Not having one, or just using the default unfortunately makes others think that you’re lazy, or not confident enough to share what you look like with us. That might not be true, but it’s the cold truth of what people think. In some cases, your logo can be appropriate, like in WordPress, but for sites like Twitter and Linkedin, we want to follow people, not shadows.
3. Either be good at writing, or find someone who is. Your words are the second thing people see, even on YouTube. Good grammar and just plain wit in your writing goes a long way in establishing credibility and branding yourself. Do whatever it takes to learn good copy, proofread, and maybe even find someone who can help you.
2. Create content just as often as you share others’. I talked about this earlier in the week, and it still rings true, especially on Twitter. People don’t like following someone who only retweets. They want to read your tweets, hence they followed you. While it’s great to show love and share the work of others (while crediting them of course), it is just as effective to put your own ideas out there.
1. Be genuine by being simple. It’s pretty obvious that coming off as genuine and honest helps your personal brand, but many still miss the mark. This can be because they’re trying to do too many things at once. Simplicity is better. This is easy on Twitter, when you’re forced to keep tweets to a certain amount of characters, but it can be tricky when navigating other social media sites. Shoot for saying more in a sentence then you could in a paragraph. That’s what people respond to, because chances are, no one is taking the time to read your 1000 word essays on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Writing this, I couldn’t help but think of other helpful idioms, but the title says “5” and I’m sticking to it. If there is one last thing I can say, however, it’s that you need to take a break periodically. Social Media, like everything else in the world, follows a progressive rhythm. Taking days off and regrouping your thoughts is a beautiful way to perfect your own, social media rhythm.
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Love it! People want to follow people, not shadows!