Social media is today’s communication. Whether Facebook, LinkedIn, Google accounts, Twitter, Pinterest, or any other online connections, social media creates 24/7 relationships – something we both love and hate. Using social media tools is essential to business and, to many people, it’s a significant part of their occupation. Just as etiquette is an important part of face-to-face communication, it is also an important part of social media. In fact, the rules of etiquette for social media follow the same principles your grandmother taught. Following these dos and don’ts will enable you to use social media as a professional tool for building, rather than destroying, your professional reputation. In some cases, it may even save you your job.
Top 10 Dos
• Be polite, respectful, kind, and professional in all your posts
• Direct your posts to the appropriate audience. Keep personal . . . personal, and professional . . . professional.
• When posting information and/or content from other people, give credit where credit is due.
• Know your company’s social media policy and follow it.
• Be truthful and accurate when posting news.
• Maintain the confidentiality of company trade secrets or proprietary information.
• Acknowledge mistakes and correct them quickly
• When posting work-related articles, post a disclaimer stating that your comments express your views.
• When publishing links to company sites, identify yourself as an employee.
• Keep smart phones silent and on vibrate during work hours – especially at meetings.
Top 10 Don’ts
• Do not use company time and/or computers for personal activity
• Do not discuss company business, or internal information on your personal and/or professional site.
• Don’t, put down, or spread malicious gossip about coworkers or those in authority over you.
• Do post discriminatory comments.
• Do not get involved in online confrontations. Deal with individual issues, individually.
• Don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your mother or your boss to read.
• Don’t just post, take time to listen and respond.
• Don’t monopolize online discussion groups.
• Don’t request connections without a common bond.
• Don’t mix personal correspondence with personal.
Because we are alone at our computer or on our mobile devices, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that no one but the intended receiver(s) “hears” your comments and/or sees your photos. In reality, once you post something online, it’s there forever. Even the most stringent privacy and security steps can be broken by someone (consider the latest banking breaches) and few people put more than the basic privacy into their social media. In today’s world, we face multiple challenges. By a following the basic tenets of common decency and treating others as we wish to be treated, social media snafus don’t have to be one of them.
Contact Springborn Staffing. We use every tool available, including social media, to match you to a Bangor or Portland, Maine company and move your career forward.
