Your online goal should be the same as if you were in person: to engage, give value, and make someone’s life better.
It’s hard enough to figure out someone’s intent in person; trying to “read the room” online can be even more frustrating. In an article in a recent Wall Street Journal, I caution readers that social media is similar to face-t0-face interaction. You are there to engage, educate, and encourage others.
To do this successfully, consider the following tips for managing your online communications:
- Treat each social-media page differently — be more professional on LinkedIn, for example.
- Write down a social-media goal and statement and only post things that reflect that brand and your values.
- Post just once a day on most sites. More frequent posts are OK on Twitter.
- Ask for permission before posting anything that shows or tags another person.
- If someone is rude or profane on your page, delete the post immediately.
