Posts, Links and Photos: What Your Social Networks Say About YOU!

July 27, 2009

Right now, think: What’s your latest Twitter entry? What was the last photo you uploaded on your Facebook page? Can you remember or do you have to go and check really quick? Are you nervous or confident about the things you said there? microphone 2 Posts, Links and Photos: What Your Social Networks Say About YOU!

Social networking is wonderful (in my opinion), but I also notice that it is not without its set of problems in misconceptions. For instance, a lot of people think that social networking platforms are a free-for-all. They think that they can write anything, post anything and even link to anything, even innappropriate or offensive material. Now while there are certain circles that have their own culture and personalities, what should you as a corporation or a business owner do to ensure that your platforms are professional but approachable?

What’s the Purpose?

I personally tend to use the Facebook platform as a socially-connected forum to keep up with the latest events in my locale, upload photos and keep tabs on my tween-ager! That’s about 30% of what I use it for. The remaining percentage, I use for networking with other writing professionals on leads and talking with my editors and contacts that are my other writing/consulting clients.

I use Twitter for the full 140-character networking that it was intended for, but not as much as I do Facebook. I love to read my following/followers links and find information on business topics of interest and more leads. For both platforms though, I’m careful about what I post, when I post it, what I say on the post and consider who’s reading the post. No, I won’t post details about my children, i.e., what schools they attend, their birth dates, ages, etc., nor would I post details about my married life or my husband. Who really wants to know about those things anyway?

But, do all users give the same consideration to this?

Game Rules

There are some ground rules to practicing etiquette in social networking that are both spoken and non-spoken, but many businesses and individuals often do not practice these rules when they are on these social sites. Not only can this be embarrassing and damaging to youronline image, but could also be a deterrent in your business goals, or any potential business and any future business dealings with other company’s and clients.

If your corporation wants to utilize and maximize the use of social networking, they should carefully choose the representative who will speak on their site, their blogs and any social networking platforms where they may be. And, not only the company’s representatives, but also employees and freelancers that are associated with the company. In other words, be careful of the way your corporation is portrayed on the social platforms.

Your Company’s Image

What people do on their personal time is definitely their business, without a doubt. Where they go, who they’re with and what they do is their business. But it becomes a company’s business when that individual/employee/representative affect the company’s reputation by posting innappropriate posts, uploading compromising photos or even linking to questionable or irrelevant sites. What does that say about your company?

The point of social networking for businesses is to drive traffic, make connections and gain a following for your company. Social networking is driven by the individuals who are a part of the company and who represent the company online. Make sure that your followers are getting quality and appropriate material.

What can you do to ensure that your company is represented accurately in the social circles?