Social media has a key role in society, nobody can deny that. And as a communication tool it is all you could ask for. But some people abuse this gift we’ve been given.

Do you remember the likes of bebo and Myspace? Ah, good times, am I right? Well times have changed since then and the world of social networking has matured, in a sense. In my experience there’s about a 50/50 divide in people who understand social media etiquette and those who don’t. Whether you think you understand or not here’s a quick checklist just to make sure you’re not one of them people. You’ll see what I mean.

Don’t post a million times a day on Facebook. Look, mate, nobody is going to think you’ve gone missing just because you’ve not let us know what you’ve had for your tea (and every other meal that day) and nobody is going to think you’re a terrible mother just because it’s been a whole hour since you posted a picture of your darling children or your new baby with all that baby food (I hope it’s baby food) dribbling down its chin.

I read a recent study that said you were more likely to be unfollowed by other people if you engaged in too much social media posting. Because again, people get bored of that stuff. It also said that people who post the most are most likely suffering from self-esteem issues and are looking for validation online… which is only back firing, isn’t it seeing as though this will more likely make people dislike you. That’s kind of sad and now I feel a little guilty for taking the mickey a bit.

When it comes to oversharing, stop and think before you post: is this relevant? Will anybody care? Is it funny? Do I really need to share this?!

Friending and unfriending

The first thing you do when you make a new social media profile is start connecting with friends and people you know. But people also get into the habit of adding anyone and anybody just so it looks like they don’t have a bigger “friend” list. I put “friend” in inverted commas, because are they really your friends?

You may politely accept a request from someone you sat next to in maths class 5 years ago but shortly after realise you have nothing in common and their posts do nothing but get on your nerves. So what do you do? If you’re too much of a nice person to just straight up delete them (aw, aint you a sweetheart) there’s a Facebook option to “unfollow” that person: that means they will still be your Facebook friend but their posts won’t appear on your timeline.

Obnoxious Updates

I’m going to refrain from turning this into a rant but here’s how not to obnoxious on Social Media. 5 things you should abstain from doing: intentionally vague posts, chronic complaining, meaningless calls to action, oversharing, and posting too frequently.

I could write paragraph upon paragraph about what is wrong with these things but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Pictures

So you’ve just come back from the best holiday of your life and you’re desperate to share with the world all 667 pictures of your pouting duck face.  But there are a few things to think about before you upload and go on a mad tagging spree.

Tagging photos of your friends and family with their names is a great way to share your photos, but not everyone wants pictures of themselves in a bathing suit splashed across the Internet. So adopt the policy that the first time you post a photo of someone, don’t tag them, instead contact them and ask if it is okay for you to post the picture and whether they are comfortable with being tagged in the future.

We’ve all got pictures of our friends on our phones that are absolutely hilarious but absolutely unfit for social media. I repeat, UNFIT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA. This could be your mate upside down with a beer bong whilst someone tries to set him on fire. Like I said, hilarious right. Most people might think that but do you know who won’t, their future employer! So be careful with what you upload.

Privacy and settings

If you’re the type who minds your p’s and q’s on Facebook but your friends are a bit more lax about what they share, your best option is to customize your settings so you see only the updates you want!

To control which updates you see from your friends, simply click on the arrow in the upper right-hand corner of one of their posts in your feed. You will be given the choice to see all of their updates in your feed, see most of them, or see only their important posts. (Not sure who or what decides what is classed as an “important post” to be honest but it works!)

To control who sees your status updates, before hitting “post” each time, click the drop-down menu that says “friends” next to the post button. By selecting “custom” you can choose which of your friends see (or are blocked from seeing) that specific link, photo, or status update. But if you’re having any doubts about whether or not to post something, it’s probably best not to.

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I hope this helped you! My Grandad still doesn’t understand the etiquette fully yet, but even he’s getting there. So you have no excuse!

If you have any enquires about social media (or the etiquette for that matter) do not hesitate to tweet @StrategySMedia or visit our website https://www.strategysocialmedia.co.uk/