10 commandments of social media for brands

By Trish Cowan, copywriter

While it might be a place we can let our personal hair down, brands should always be polite and professional in their social media presence. To make and get the most of their social media persona, here are 10 rules to follow.

1. Thou shalt be patient and considerate. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Nor is a brand.
2. Thou shalt not be indifferent to the voice of thy customer. Good, bad or ugly, these are public conversations. It’s not the time to be defensive or critical. But rather, diplomatic and even apologetic if need be.
3. Thou shalt be true to thyself. You’ve worked hard to get where you are. Stick with the values that got you there.
4. Thou shalt think before you post. Always, always share something of value.
5. Thou shalt be brief. Keep it simple, to the point. Remember a picture, video and other visual assets say a thousand words.
6. Thou shalt not hog the conversation. This Mark Twain quote says it all: “If we were meant to talk more than listen, we would have two mouths and one ear.”
7. Thou shalt do good. Be positive, offer useful information. Bring and build your audience up, not down.
8. Thou shalt keep it strictly business. This isn’t the place to mix business with pleasure. Professionalism is like chivalry: it never dies.
9. Thou shalt respect the hashtag. Use them correctly, don’t overuse them and make sure they’re always relevant to the conversation.
10. Thou shalt not lie. Be honest, don’t embellish, and admit it if you don’t have the answer.

 Personally, I don’t find a single one of these rules was hard to believe. Or follow. After all, it’s the same stuff mom told you a few years ago. Good advice that never gets old. And can be applied in a lot of places.

http://mashable.com/2013/03/13/social-media-business-commandments/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=feedburner&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29