Best Practices for Social Media Use

Whether it’s a company jumping on the social media marketing bandwagon or simply a person choosing to share content, many first time social media users make some big mistakes when they delve into social media. While it seems that almost anything goes in the world of social media, there are rules and an etiquette that should be followed. Debra Jason (2015) says that one of the most important things to keep in mind when using social media is to “be yourself, be genuine and be authentic.” Fast Company has put out a social media roadmap: surefire rules, data, and expert wisdom guaranteed to show why this market is completely unpredictable. You can follow them here for rules, tips and tricks, and a number of dos and don’ts for social media use.

Best Practices for Twitter

While there are no hard and fast rules for becoming a Twitter member, there are a number of opinions about the best practices of how to do so. Sometimes, it is perfectly ok to simply open a Twitter account to just listen. When Twitter first began, even they emphasized the importance of simply listening on Twitter even if you chose to never send out a tweet yourself (Hunt, Dec, 2013). There are a number of people and companies out there doing Twitter right and all of them have differing opinions on the best ways to use Twitter.

If you are looking to start from scratch on Twitter, here are some tips for best practices:

• Know Your Goals/Objectives
• Choose a Good Username
• Include Decent Images
• Add Your Name, Website & Bio
• Set Up Mobile Access
• Find Good Accounts to Follow
• Restrict Your Followers
• Build Twitter into your Schedule
• Learn the Language and Basic Conventions
• Leverage the Lists Feature
• Avoid the “Following” Trap

Bottom line: follow Tweeters who provide high-quality content you need to meet your goals and objectives – and allow them to do the same (Hunt, Oct, 2013). For more information on these tips and tricks and for further rookie guidance click here.

For those Twitter users that already have the account and are just wondering how best to use it, you can follow these basic best practices:

• Strive for Quality over Quantity
• Craft Your Tweets Well
• Use Hashtags Wisely
• Think about Multiple Views
• Don’t Tweet Drivel
• Find the “Tweets per Day” Sweet Spot
• Don’t Overdo It
• Time Your Tweets Well
• Plan Your Tweets
• Live Tweet Judiciously
• Don’t Have Private Chats in Public Spaces (Hunt, Dec, 2013).

Click here for more specifics on these tips.

The Huffington Post even has its own ideas of the best Twitter practices. For more information and specific examples of how actual Twitter users are implementing these ideas click here.

One of the biggest things to remember is that Twitter can help, you just need to know how you want to use it and what you expect to get out of it. “No matter what type of business you are…you can use Twitter to build meaningful connections with a relevant and engaged audience. These connections can lead to actions across a network of loyal customers for your business.”

Engagement 50% _____ have visited or shopped at the websites of the SMBs they follow

Customers 43% _____ plan to purchase regularly from the SMBs they follow

Sales 50% _____ purchased from an SMB because of something they saw on Twitter

(“Twitter Basics,” n.d.).

Best Practices for Blogging

There are also a number of best practices for blogging, whether you are looking to start a personal blog or a business blog. Blogging for business purposes can be very different. “Great business blogs have to walk a fine line: they have to create value for current and prospective customers while at the same time supporting a strategy that provides business growth” (Bodnar, 2010). Here are just a few of the best practices to follow when creating a business blog:

• Think Like a Vertically Integrated Publisher
• Focus on Non-Branded Keyword Content
• Ask Your Readers What They Want
• Make Sure Your Blog Is Clearly Connected to Your Website (Bodnar, 2010)

Click to see more on these practices. For even more info on blogging practices check out “Best Practices” and “What the Best Business Bloggers Do (And You Should Too).”

Do Athletic Trainers Follow the Best Practices on Social Sites?

The world of athletic training and athletics varies greatly in the way social media is used. Some athletic trainers post to social media as individuals and some post for the company or school that they work for. Some follow some or all of the best practices described while others get creative and use whatever works for them. Most athletic trainers, however, really do one thing right: live-tweeting events and conferences. See tips for live conference tweeting and live tweeting events.

 

For those of you that are beginners to the world of social media this site is a great source for beginners. It gives good information on what kinds of content to publish and share, how to share and publish your content, how to earn trust from your community and how to manage a crisis if and when they occur. Happy Socializing!

And remember, no matter how you plan to use social media, these tips can help you not to be this guy:

(Hunt, Dec, 2013).

 

Resources

Beese, J. (October 6, 2014). “Follow These Best Practices for Live-Tweeting Events.”Sprout Social. Retrieved from: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/live-tweeting-best-practices/.

Bodnar, K. (May 12, 2010). “4 Business Blogging Best Practices.” HubSpot. Retrieved from: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5963/4-Business-Blogging-Best-Practices.aspx#sm.00000thqqjsoqdf76zdyyotr56w98.

Herzog, A. (February 24, 2014). “10 Best Practices for Tweeting in 2014.” Huffington Post Media. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-herzog/10-best-practices-for-twitter_b_4834232.html.

Hunt, C. (October 30, 2013). “Twitter for Rookies: Simple Guidance for Getting Started.” The Denovati Group. Retrieved from: http://denovati.com/2013/10/twitter-for-rookies.

Hunt, C. (December 13, 2013). “Twitter Best Practices: 11+ Tips for Tweeting Well.” The Denovati Group. Retrieved from: http://denovati.com/2013/12/twitter-best-practices.

Jason, D. (April 27, 2015). “Social Media Etiquette: Are There Rules?” The Write Direction. Retrieved from: http://writedirection.com/social-media-etiquette-are-there-rules/.

Shattell, M. (June 14, 2015). “What Are the Five Best Practices for Tweeting From Conferences.” The Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mona-shattell/what-are-the-five-best-pr_b_7065090.html.

Twitter basics. (n.d.). Twitter. Retrieved from: https://business.twitter.com/en/basics.html.