Tweet this way. No actually tweet that way. Don't talk too much. Talk or you are not engaging. Treat me like a human being. Don't ignore me. Share your best stuff. Invite me to your Facebook page. Don't spam me. Don't tell me what you ate for lunch.
My oh my… no wonder the newbies get confused. As I read more and more blog posts recently it is becoming apparent how many conflicting words of advice are being given by everyone blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and Google plussing. We could spend days just sorting thru what the actual truth is and what will help our business.
Tonight I even saw a writer share on an open forum that commercial websites should only launch if they have 500 pages. What? The sad thing is there are probably people who believe such fud and pay to have someone write 500 pages before they launch a website.
There is only one way to do social media and that is the way that works for you and your business. Focus on building and executing a social media plan that integrates with your business and helps you achieve your business and life goals.
Listen and learn from others. However, don't get caught up in the hype. Do your research. Be certain who you are taking advice from. Make sure they have real social proof and know from experience that the advice they are giving you works.
I thought it would be fun to throw together a list of the most common social media tips we hear and share. It took me only a few minutes to come up with all 150 of them. I find it interesting how many of them conflict with one another. I am not stating all of these are true. I am simply proving a point that there is not one right way to do social media for business. Many of these items conflict but many gurus, experts and others proclaim them ALL to be truth.
No wonder so many of the social media newbies give us the raised eyebrow and get confused. We sure don't make it easy for them, do we?
150 Over Used, Conflicting but Sometimes Still Useful Social Media Tips
1. Engage.
2. Be social. That is what social media is for.
3. Listen first.
4. Know your audience.
5. Have objectives.
6. Use your real face on your social media profile photo (avatar.)
7. Don't send Twitter auto direct messages (DMs).
8. Give people credit when you retweet or share their blog.
9. Be yourself.
10. Don't spam coupons all day.
11. Don't retweet yourself.
12. Don't be a troll.
13. Be yourself.
14. Focus on content.
15. Quality over quantity.
16. Don't spam my Facebook wall with your business.
17. Don't beg for Facebook likes.
18. Don't talk too much about Facebook on Google+.
19. Don't talk too much, period.
20. Dont' share too much.
21. Don't talk about what you ate for lunch.
22. Share personal content and what you do during day so people will get to know you.
23. Be nice.
24. You are what you tweet.
25. Don't post naked avatar photo.
26. Don't ask for retweets.
27. Don't give to get.
28. Give me a reason to like your Facebook page.
29. Don't make videos too long.
30. Include your social media profile urls on your email signature.
31. Add social buttons to your blog.
32. Don't add QRC codes on stupid places (like your Facebook profile photo or business page badge photo).
33. Speak when spoken to.
34. Follow everyone back.
35. Don't follow everyone back.
36. Don't unfollow people.
37. Unfollow lame people.
38. Don't use auto follow tools.
39. Don't schedule auto tweets.
40. Schedule auto tweets when you have to.
41. Don't expect instant results.
42. Know your objectives.
43. Focus on art of social media as well as science.
44. Do your research for how your audience is engaging.
45. Focus on relationships.
46. Focus on the people.
47. Ensure your brand is consistent across online platforms.
48. Make your blog the hub of your online presence.
49. Make Facebook the hub of your online presence.
50. Start with a plan.
51. Perfection is the enemy of good.
52. Focus on providing value to your audience.
53. Join LinkedIn groups.
54. Outsource your social media.
55. Don't outsource all of your social media.
56. Focus on providing value to your audience.
57. Ensure you have an internal executive champion.
58. Manage your reputation proactively.
59. Monitor your brand.
60. Use free social media tools.
61. Don't use all free social media tools.
62. Don't spam your contacts on LinkedIn.
63. Monitor Google Analytics for trends and insights to improve.
64. You must get on Google+ if you care about search.
65. You must get on the 100+ other platforms if you care about your business.
66. You must be an early adopter of every platform if you want success.
67. Don't hire an intern to run your social media.
68. Don't retweet yourself.
69. Don't add people to Facebook groups without telling them first.
70. Don't spam people with your silly events on Facebook.
71. Don't reply to the Facebook spam event emails with another spam telling all 100 people on the list it is spam!
72. Don't critcize a blog post based only on the tweet title if you haven't read it.
73. Everything that happens on Twitter goes to Facebook, LinkedIn and blog posts.
74. It's not about you, it's about me.
75. Blog at least three times a week.
76. Blog when you want to blog.
77. Blog every day.
78. Be relevant.
79. Be unique.
80. Add a bio to your social profiles.
81. Humanize your brand.
82. Treat me like a human, not a robot.
83. Don't use profanity.
84. Don't complain too much.
85. Don't tweet drunk.
86. Don't tweet and drive.
87. Don't tweet mad.
88. Make me laugh.
89. Have an opinion.
90. Don't be too opinionated.
91. Don't use the word “social media guru”.
92. Nobody is an expert in social media.
93. Be consistent.
94. Establish trust.
95. Leverage social proof.
96. Know your WHY.
97. Lose the ego.
98. Focus on building community.
99. Focus on your blog more than the social networks.
100. Focus on Facebook as top priority.
101. Share your best stuff.
102. Don't share too much.
103. Tweet other people's content.
104. Create your own content.
105. Don't be a know it all.
106. Use hashtags.
107. Don't use too many hashtags.
108. Avoid Random Acts of Marketing (RAMs).
109. Doing social media is not the objective.
110. Integrate social media into the DNA of your business.
111. Facebook is only for kids.
112. You have one chance to make a first impression.
113. Your CEO wants revenue, not retweets.
114. Master video marketing.
115. Define, create and implement conversion funnels.
116. Email is not dead.
117. Pick one thing and do it really well.
118. Use url shorteners.
119. Add your social profiles to your business cards.
120. Tell everyone you know you are on Facebook.
121. Friend your kids, neighbors and dogs on Facebook so they will like your Facebook page.
122. It's okay to be a little bit spammy if you're asking for Facebook likes.
123. Go where your customers are.
124. Stalk your competition.
125. Don't worry about your competition.
126. Followers do not equal sales.
127. ROI will come with time.
128. Facebook likes does not necessarily equal ROI.
129. Stay humble.
130. Focus on Google+ as top priority for search.
131. Focus on Pinterest for search because it's the best thing since Facebook and Quora.
132. Set your privacy settings really tight, there are bad people on the internet.
133. Don't worry about privacy, there is no such thing anymore.
134. Tell stories on social media.
135. Don't tell too many stories on social media.
136. Thank people for retweeting you.
137. Don't thank people too much or your Twitter stream becomes cluttered.
138. Tweet enough so you can meet people at different times.
139. Don't tweet too much.
140. Join tweet chats to meet new people and learn new things.
141. Think before you tweet.
142. Don't tweet too much about your drama filled life.
143. Don't plagiarize. Give credit where credit is due.
144. Don't waste time reading stupid lists like this one.
145. Don't be too hard on yourself if you read all the way to the bottom of this list.
146. Don't tweet me and ask me “were 150 tips really necessary?”
147. Don't take yourself so seriously.
148. Be serious about social media.
149. Have fun.
150. Retweet this post!
