The Ultimate Guide to Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media

zeel shah
20 Min Read

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The way we communicate with one another has altered as a result of social media. Keeping in touch with people is made simple by social media platforms. With the status updates, pictures, and videos that pals submit, you can quickly catch up with them. Social media is also crucial for businesses and anyone wanting to expand their professional social media networks or find jobs. It is not simply useful for your personal life but also for your business page and as a brand voice.

It can be challenging to keep up with and navigate the numerous social media platforms and applications that appear yearly. Depending on what you’re looking for, each can help you in various ways and offers something unique. This article ensures you know the do’s and don’ts of social media before you plunge into the social media landscape.

1. What Is Social Media?

The social media platform is a digital library that swamps us with knowledge and information. Sharing information, ideas, videos, and photos over the internet community is a salient feature of social media. This online platform allows individuals and businesses to burgeon over the net.

do's and don'ts of social media
Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay Copyright 2018

There are great forms of social media like blogs, vlogs, photo sharing sites, messaging sites, podcasts, widgets, and much more. Social media is like a sea; the deeper you go, the deeper you fall for it. It helps in presenting the business more pleasantly. Just like the two sides of a coin, it has its own merits and demerits. Let’s look at some of social media’s do’s and don’ts.

2. Do’s Of Social Media

2.1. Out-And-Out Social Media Accounts

Like they say that the first impression is the last. So the first thing you need to keep in mind while using social media is the profile. The profile should be complete and absolute. The details mentioned in the profile should be authentic and genuine. All the required details should be filled in congruously on your personal or business page.

Also, your social profile should be remarkable and presentable. A complete profile will give good creditability and recognition. The profile loses its creditability if it’s partially complete, so it should be in and out complete with all the details. The profile should also be active in social media posts, as it’s the post that engages the audience.

2.2. Be Accurate In Posting Content

Posting irrelevant content reduces engagement. Being accurate with the content in the profile is also essential. For instance, posting your photos on your business page is completely irrelevant, as none of the followers from your business profile is interested in your personal life.

So you should post quality content regularly and consistently. The business page must be aware of its target audience and post content accordingly. The content should be pertinent to the profile you are dealing with. This is a crucial ado when it comes to using social media marketing.

do's and don'ts of social media
Image by Heyli Jiménez from Pixabay Copyright 2021

2.3. The Uniqueness Of The Content

A unique person endures in the world, and in the same vein, the more distinctive the substance, the greater the perceived appeal. The secret to success is originality. The social media feeds ought to be distinctive and original. Nowadays, people are more interested in unique things. Therefore, if your content is distinctive, you will undoubtedly get noticed.

2.4. Establish Good Relationships

This is one of the rules of any business. The same implies when it comes to social media presence. A good relationship should be maintained online also. Though it’s a new environment, the business page should practice this to maintain customer engagement.
Solving queries, giving proper solutions, and getting feedback are ways to establish good relations. This should be done to maintain long relationships with customers.

2.5. Interaction With Audience

Interaction with the audience is vital these days. When the audience asks for any information, the page should respond immediately before the customer leaves the site. The consumer is like a god, and interacting with them benefits the business.

do's and don'ts of social media
Image by Joseph Mucira from Pixabay Copyright 2020

Immediate response is one of the ways through which digital marketing works. Responding to the comments is another one. The audience should not feel that they are unheard. So the comments should be responded to instantly.

Replying to direct messages is also one of the ways through which business pages can interact with social media users. Interacting correctly with the audience is one social media strategy to comply.

2.6. Inherit Good Online Behavior

Your online behavior should be ethical and sound. Antagonistic behavior should not be practiced. The audience gets more happy and satisfied when they receive good treatment and care.

This arrogant behavior leads to negative comments and responses, which give rise to a reduction in the customer base. The aggressive behavior may lead to a reduction in the number of followers. So implementing good behavior is considered a social media etiquette.

2.7. Classify Your Network

Classifying your network is also an important thing. You should be clear on which platform you would like to promote your page. The sites for B2-B transactions are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. So it would be best if you had a social media marketing plan ready regarding your target audiences and transactions you want to deal in.

do's and don'ts of social media
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Copyright 2017

2.8. Visual Engaging Content

Photos and videos are the best examples of visually engaging content. Your social media posting should be visually appealing, so the audience gets an appropriate idea about the page. Photos and videos should be taken with proper angles so they can be viewed properly. If the audience is satisfied with the image and video, they will engage with your site.

2.9. Use Hashtags Connect

Hashtags are beneficial for promoting content quickly. Using appropriate hashtags makes the content viral. Hashtags help in fast and quick responses and also help in reaching a large number of social media users.

do's and don'ts of social media
Photo by geralt on Pixabay Copyright 2016

2.10. Privacy Settings

Privacy is one of the most critical concerns when it comes to social platforms. The personal account should consider more privacy settings, as there are many chances of content getting misused. However, business accounts should remain public to reach a vast audience.
But plagiarism and copyright concerns should be kept in mind when you have a public account.

2.11. Seek Permission Before Tagging

Before tagging, you should seek permission from the person you will tag. This is a concern of privacy. So before tagging anyone, ensure that the person is comfortable with it.

2.12. Check The Errors Before Posting It

Think twice before you post anything on social media. Everything, especially the mistakes, gets viral on social media. So check all the spelling errors before you post anything on social media. Rechecking works makes the work more authentic. Check all the spelling errors before posting and double-check the content. An error-free content receives more engagement.

2.13. Be Selective Of The Followers And Following

While using social media, you should be clear about who you follow and who is following you. Sometimes unwanted followers lead to huge problems like hacking. So you must be cautious when choosing your followers and following. Removing unwanted and irrelevant followers also helps.

3. Don’ts Of Social Media

do's and don'ts of social media
Image by Jannik Texler from Pixabay Copyright 2017

3.1. Don’t Beg For Followers

While using social media, most people have a common habit of begging for followers. But this has a wrong impact on the site. Our content should be such that the audience promotes it without telling them they should promote it. We should not ask them to like and comment; they should do it independently. Asking someone to like a post is like asking someone to compliment us. So we should not pose that we require likes and comments. So this is an important point that should be kept in mind.

3.2. Know The Limits Of Posting

The content you are posting should be appropriately scheduled. You should post regularly but within limits. Never over-post anything because excess of anything leads to failure. Posting one or two posts is counted as ideal. But posting 5 to 6 posts a day is not ideal. Sometimes, when you post content frequently, the audience gets bored of it and leaves the site immediately. This sometimes gets irritating, and the audience gets frustrated and unfollows the site.

3.3. Don’ts Use Low Vocab

Always make sure that you use a high level of vocab. This will have a good impact on the audience and ensure that they don’t miss the following content. High vocab also entertains a large audience, and this will increase engagement. Also, make sure that you make fewer grammar mistakes, as this negatively impacts the audience. To avoid mistakes, you can make use of an application like Grammarly. This helps avoid spelling errors and makes the content more reliable and authentic.

3.4. Avoid Sharing The Same Content And Message

free social media management tools
Photo by geralt on Pixabay Copyright 2017

Always avoid sharing the same content again and again. Imagine someone repeating the same story again and again; quite boring, right. Similarly, posting the same message repeatedly gives poor impact. Due to this, the audience gets bored and might leave the site. Always share new content so that audience remains excited and engaged. Creative and new content is the key.

3.5. Over Spamming Is Irrelevant

Avoid targeting the audience who are useless for your business. This will only increase the number of followers. So remove those followers. These would give you a good number of followers, but the actual engagement would be less. So this gives unactual figures to the page, hindering the business’s growth.

3.6. Avoid Excessive Use Of DM’s

Direct messages or DM’s are considered one of the best ways marketing can be done. But like they say, excessive use of anything causes harm. Imagine waking up with a text from a business page, irritating right. This impacts the followers wrong, and they might even leave the site. So sending messages to the customer every day is not a good practice.
Use direct messages wisely. Using DM’s for one-to-one conversation is considered best. Direct messages help in solving the queries of the customers. This way, you can connect with your audience. But don’t try to influence the customer so that the customer feels being forced.

3.7. Don’t Go For Quantity

Quality content is always appreciated rather than quantity. Don’t go for the number of followers. Even if a page has a good number of followers, it doesn’t mean the page is reliable. Sometimes those could be fake followers. It is also possible that half of the followers could be people from their family only, or the follower’s account could be fake, created to show a good number of followers. So always go for good quality work rather than quantitative figures.
So always keep the quality and creativity of work in mind, and avoid numbers games. Though numbers cast a good impact, sometimes it could be fake.

do's and don'ts of social media
Image by Coffee Bean from Pixabay Copyright 2017

3.8. Don’t Be Fake

It is considered inappropriate to be fake on social media. Truth never gets hidden. One day or the other, it surely gets revealed. So never hide the truth behind the bar. Fake behaviour may hinder the growth and success of a business. Once your business name is declared fake, retaining the same goodwill back isn’t easy.
Let the audience know it all. This helps in the growth of business and engagement. People always choose honesty over lies. So to gain lifetime goodwill, always choose honesty and authentic behaviour.

3.9. Avoid Sharing Sadness

Don’t share sadness over the net. Depressive and sad post creates a negative impact on the audience. The audience does not feel positive vibes and may leave the page. So this will also lead to a reduction in the number of followers. These depressive posts would only create a pessimist environment.
People always get enthusiastic when they see some motivational and inspirational posts. So business pages should always go for such posts. This creates a positive environment and creates optimism. Such posts also engage the audience and also promote new followers. This practice should be implemented to create engagement.

3.10. Check The Source Of Content

Always check the reference of the content you are reading. Sometimes it’s not always the truth that we see. Don’t rely on everything you see on the site. Always cross-check the content with the authentic work. These days nothing is trustworthy. So always do a recheck before believing certain things. Don’t trust everything you see. Checking the content twice is an ideal way to determine whether it’s true.
Fake content is seen everywhere today. It’s you who should know whom to trust and whom not to trust. Always be wise enough and check the authenticity of the content.

3.11. Use Your Time Wisely On The Net

Time is the most precious thing, and sometimes this point is neglected by us. We waste hours on social media without even knowing how much time we have wasted. Always use your time wisely on the net. Spend time on things that are fruitful rather than wasting it on things that are irrelevant and useless.
Avoid scrolling social media applications during work hours and use this time for fruitful work. Proper investment of time is a good achievement. So it would be best if you had a clear picture about spending how much time you spent on social media. Invest your time shrewdly and make it count.

3.12. Never Think That You Know It All

Having an ideology that you know it all is detrimental. Always think that still, you have to learn many things. Having this ideology will bring success to you and your firm. Don’t think you know it all and are jack of all. This will hinder your growth and stop you from learning something new.
Always cultivate the habit of learning something new from the environment. This healthy habit will help in improving you as well as your business. So never think that you are the master of all, always think that still, you have got a lot to learn.

3.13. Don’t Go For Easy Paths

Short cuts are always long cuts. Choosing the shorter path is always full of struggles in the long run. So don’t go for shortcuts. Always go for long paths, even if they are full of struggles initially. The fruit tastes sweeter when plucked and eaten from a tree. This is because we struggled a lot to get that fruit. Similarly, the result from a long path is always difficult but satisfactory.
Don’t go for fake followers and quantity. Always get true followers who are interested in your content and work. Always choose long paths rather than long ones.

3.14. Avoid Stealing Images

Never steal images from other sites. This may also lead to the issue of copyright. Sometimes you can also be sued for it. So never steal anything. Follow the required procedure, pay for it, and then use it. This is considered a good practice.

Conclusion

So after reading this article, you might get a clear picture of the do’s and don’ts of social media. Cultivate these in your life, and you will surely experience the perks of social media platforms. Follow all the do’s and don’ts of social media wisely, and your page will get popular in the long run.

Last Updated on by Himani Rawat

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