The 5 Commandments of Social Media

Social Media this. Social media that. You know what it is, you even know what to do… well, sort of. But you at least know, to be yourself and be authentic.

Whether you’re a pro or a beginner there’s still a basic set of rules that you should abide by when participating in social media. Ones that will…

make you feel more comfortable and help you to get to know what you’re doing.

Here are 5 social media marketing rules I swear by.

-Treat it like a cocktail party. If you meet someone in person, what are the chances that you’ll stick out your hand, introduce yourself, and start talking about what you do and what you sell right away? Slim…at least I hope.

Don’t pitch as soon as you meet someone. Social media is a platform for conversation and engagement, so treat it as such. Give it some time before the pitching kicks in. Give your audience a chance to get to trust you first.

-Don’t draw lines in the sand and call sites like Twitter “stupid” just because you don’t know how to use them.

If I could count the number of people who wrote Twitter off as a “young person’s” site, it’d be way too many to keep track of. You never know what sites will be the next big thing, and by the looks of it, Twitter is here to stay.

-Humanize yourself and your brand with personal information, but only 2 percent of the time. For the most part, you should be sharing informative material – interesting articles, pieces of knowledge – things you know will truly benefit your audience.

You want to seem as though you’re the caped crusader, bringing cool gems of info to your followers and fans. And when you’ve given them enough to trust your judgment, you can share facts about yourself here and there.

-Understand the authenticity and the incredible power of social media marketing sites and the voices of consumers to make or break companies.

-Interacting with potential clients and becoming part of the community is a real job. Listen before you talk. This one might seem hard, but with so many people talking, it shouldn’t be hard for you to do the listening every so often.

Find out what people are talking about, and asking and be the one to offer solutions and sound advice. Be the voice of reason.

These 5 Social Media Marketing Commandments are a great start to get you involved. If you’re already a pro, congratulations, you’ve mastered something everyone wants to get their hands on.

But if you’re still reluctant, give it a try and see what you think. This buzz can’t all be for nothing, right? The boost it’ll give your personal and professional network and your sales will be enough to keep you coming back again and again.