Social media is kinda like mingling at a work-related party.
You want to look attractive without revealing it all. Skip the backless dress with the low v in the front. Instead, throw on the hot black number that leaves something to the imagination.
You should also have a good time and maybe indulge in a glass of Chardonnay. But, you don’t want to get sloppy and tell your boss that you think he needs to get laid so he’ll remove the stick from up his you know what.
Since joining Twitter and Facebook, I’ve seen some people do/say/post embarrassing things that I bet they wish they could take back. I’m not gonna name names. I’m a lady. I don’t tweet and tell.
Yes! I love this one!
I follow an group on facebook. They offer their service for free, but it’s their business. They get paid through advertising. Their stuff is amazing, but they are the most drama ridden people (in their 30s!) I know. Long philosophical rants about breakups, super passive aggressive posts about people who are no longer working with them, asking for people’s opinions then another long rant about how they don’t understand why people don’t like whatever they asked about. Again, this is on their business page.
Definitely a good reminder that even if we aren’t charging for something, we should still think about what image we’re giving our brand. (Although, I don’t think I’d want spend advertising money with people who acted like that.)
YES! Oh my gosh, that sounds like a business page I would unlike pretty quickly. Drama in social media just makes you look silly and immature.
Not only do people have to think about what they themselves write, but what they share… there are a lot of “stories” with photos about stuff that aren’t even true. I hate to see people actually believing something, and I go to check it out on google to find that it’s spam. Hate it. You can’t believe everything that is written on facebook 🙂
Oh yes…that’s a good one. Don’t link to something or like something unless you actually like it and have checked it out.
Love these tips! Thankfully, I haven’t gotten into a fight on social media, but some people I know have, and it just makes both people look crazy.
Oh, and I want to live in your craft room.
That’s right–it just makes BOTH sides look crazy. It’s best to avoid it. Come on over and play! It’s not big enough to live in, but it is big enough to have tons of crafting fun!
So well put! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Karen!
So much good advice! Especially the vote for my baby thing…I hate that! It’s so funny that not doing most of these things is common sense, but so many people do them anyway. I know one girl who is trying to promote her business page, but then every other post is full of obscenities and terrible things about ex boyfriends. That’s not the the way to reach an audience!
Hahahahaha….yes! It’s kinda ridiculous that people don’t realize these things!
Thanks April, nice tips. I hate to see aggressive people in social media, especially concerning politics. I believe that it is important to stay true to your values and respect others opinions !
Well put, Meropi! It’s great to “see” you in the comments! I always love to read what you have to add to the topic.
This video made me laugh! Awesome advice!
Loved the fighting bit! *lol*
xox,
Ursula
Hahahaha…thanks! You have to have fun with a topic like this, right?
Completely right! 🙂
I agree with you on keeping personal and business separate. I’m super political and have a lot of friends from college who are as well but I restrict my political personal posts to certain lists I’ve created on Facebook.
Awesome. That’s why it’s important to have some of that stuff separate! Thanks for sharing how you keep it separate.
Loved the video! I follow an artist on Fb and I love her art but she posts so many weird and unflattering pics of herself trying to be sexy (I think that’s what she’s trying to do??) it makes me want to tell her to stop! It’s just awkward!
Hahahahahaha….it makes you think that she needs a friend to tell her to stop!
April – you talked about not promoting your business on your personal page. I surely agree with that. Any words of wisdom on how to tactfully convert your personal friends over to your business page?
I promote my business on my personal page maybe one or two times a year–no more than that. I would ask your personal peeps to come on over and check out your business Facebook page and like it if they want to receive updates. But, only do this ONE time. That way you gave everyone the option, but you’re not bombarding them.
April you funny girl. You had me rolling with a few of those.
Thanks Gina! 🙂
Love your husband’s rendition of the Rocky theme! These are great tips. I can’t tell you how many crazy things I see people do on social media. Seems like these should be just common sense.
Hahahaha…when it got to that part of filming, I said to him, “Okay, I want the Rocky theme…go.” And, he looked at me a little crazy and I said, “What are you waiting for?” And he said, “Oh! You want me to sing it?” Duh! 🙂 Those are the kinds of conversations we have during filming. They should be common sense.
You are hilarious!! I’m laughing out loud alone in my office!! I SO agree with everything you said in there! Girl, you rock!
Thanks Stephanie! I tried to make this one fun because of the topic. 🙂
I followed a Twitter feed for a new product that was in the production phase. I was excited to see when it would be available until the Twitter account posted a crude political joke. I unfollowed that day and never looked back. A couple of friends have mentioned interest in the product and I’ve explained why I’m never going to buy it now.
Doesn’t it make you sad for that company? They probably lost out on other customers, too. You have to be careful with your words when you’re representing your brand/business!
This video is great. I’m sending link to some of my friends who are doing things wrong!
Please do pass it along! 🙂
The linking facebook status updates to Twitter drives me crazy–inevitably the majority of the post gets caught off. Also, maybe it’s just me, but I’m not a huge fan of getting a message inviting me to “like” the person’s FB page as soon as I follow them on Twitter. If I get a direct message, I like when it’s personal versus automated.
YES! True…that one should have been on my list, too. Those automated messages drive me a little bananas.
Thankfully, I don’t think I’ve committed any of these crimes. I am in love with the handmade & art community on social media because it is so positive, with everyone supporting each other and collaborating and encouraging and sharing what they know – wish my ‘real life’ was a bit more like this!
I have only recently joined Facebook – I’ve heard so many horror stories about fights in the comments where people get very personal, sarcastic and nasty. I don’t get why some people thrive on this sort of drama. Or why they follow people they don’t like then troll them with nasty comments.
And I recently saw a blog post by one of my favourite art girls that was “calling out” one of her customers with the post promoted on twitter and Facebook. It was pretty blunt and quite harsh. A quick but polite email would have been much better. After admiring her for a long time, I lost a little bit if respect for her. It felt like she’d had a rant around her lounge room to vent, but instead of doing it in private to get it out of her system then handling it with class, she had just purged her crankiness straight onto her blog. Not her finest hour but a good lesson for me.
I agree that the handmade community is awesome and usually super supportive. The only time I see a lot of negativity is in the Etsy forums which I completely avoid for that reason.
That stinks! But, we’re all human and make mistakes sometimes. That’s why I think it’s extra important to think things through and to consider how they will make you look before tweeting or posting on Facebook.
Oh lawdy! I have been guilty of one (or more) of those social media dont’s. Thanks for this great wisdom doll, it will help me remember that only those in my household are the ones who care about my strep throat 🙂
Oh Meghan! What are we going to do with you? But, I haven’t seen any of these crimes committed on your professional Facebook page–that’s why it’s helpful to keep personal and professional separate on Facebook.
Watching your video I was laughing through my horror that anyone picks fights on social media. What?! Why???? Perhaps we’re getting too comfy as a society behaving badly in public. Whatever the reason it’s bad. Scary!! Thanks for mentioning the piece about politics as well!!
Thanks Kerry! No problem…glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi April, you bring up a great point on keeping business and personal separate. I’m a newbie and would love to do this, but I’m curious, can you comment on others’ pages and join private business-related groups (such as the one you have for Blogging for Your Creative Biz) from your business page? I think it would be great to do these things keeping a consistent business identity, but am not sure if it’s possible.
You can comment/post on other’s Facebook pages.
As for the private groups, it depends. The private Facebook group for Blogging for Your Creative Business is only for the members of that course. I don’t let anyone else in, because it’s specific to the course and it’s part of the bonus of joining the course.
Wow, this vid generated a lot of comments. Thanks for keeping the conversation going in the comments April.
I understand that the BFYCB group is for the course only. I was just using it as a relatable example. So, what I mean to ask is, can a person participate in a group to which they belong from their business page? I was under the impression that you could only do so from personal, but would love to be able to from business. Thanks for hangin’ in there with me… total newbs! 🙂
Hi Amanda,
I’m not April, but since I know the answer to your question thought I’d quickly jump in! Yes, you can absolutely use your Facebook ‘business’ identity when commenting within your Groups.
Just go to the top right corner of your screen and click on your account symbol (looks like a little cog wheel). You’ll see the words “Use Facebook As:” and in the drop down menu will see your business page profile pic with the name of your Page. Click on it! You are now commenting as your Page 🙂
To change back to your personal profile, just take the same steps. Hope this makes sense!
Ruth
Ruth, thanks so much! It might seem little, but that’s a huge help. Thanks for the explanation.
Thanks for tackling that for me, Ruth! Sorry for mistaking your question Amanda–glad you’ve got it all figured out now.
Oh my goodness, I laughed so hard at “I just stepped in dog poo. Please pray for me.”
I make sure to not post anything negative on Twitter and my personal and professional Facebook pages. It just looks like you need pity and it annoys me. Another thing that bothers me that I haven’t done is when my friends ask me to like their businesses. I’m not their target market! What I have noticed for me is sharing other people’s content actually has been giving me more followers and likes. I wish people would read this and stop being annoying on Twitter. Thanks for the video!
Yes, it does look like a pity party, doesn’t it? Getting suggestion after suggestion about liking a page that you didn’t like the first time is quite annoying.
And, sharing other people’s stuff is always a good thing. It feels good to know that someone likes your “stuff” enough to share it with others!
Hi April,
This is great common sense. True. But obviously common sense isn’t all that common. I’ve seen (but never participated in) a Facebook fight. You’re right, both sides do look a little nutty. Thanks for sharing. I guess I tend to err on the cautious side and I’m afraid that my social media presence must seem very boring to people who don’t know me.
I don’t want to post random things just to create activity, but I don’t want to over share either. And certainly don’t use social media to rant about others. How do you find that sweet spot between doing nothing and being too out there?
Hey Diane! My advice is to be your best self. Not the cranky version that woke up on the wrong side of the bed–but the version that your best friends loves. As long as you’re not being negative or trashing someone else, you’ll be fine.
Another tip: take a look at the people you really enjoy following. What kind of stuff do they share? Why do you like their pages or Twitter feeds? Use that at first to get you started.
OMG, YES!! I totally agree with everything you said. I see these faux pas’s too many times on Facebook.
I have a FB friend who fits perfectly into everything you say not to do! She made a comment recently on a post I made on my business FB Page and took the conversation to an embarrassingly personal place. It was very awkward and after a tiny back and forth I just ended it by saying “good point!”. But I was completely mortified the whole time!!!
Thanks for a great video, April 🙂
Oh gosh! It’s awful when someone puts you in the middle of an awkward situation, especially if it’s on your business page for everyone to see. Ending it as quickly as possible is the best way to handle it.
Great video! I love watching your videos and learning from you each week. 🙂
One thing I don’t like is seeing a tweet about how many people unfollowed someone’s account that day. I think it’s an app or something you can download to watch the numbers of new followers and people who unfollow you. But I don’t like that they can see exactly who unfollows them and they tweet about it. Makes me a little nervous to unfollow them. Are they going to find out where I live and egg my house or something??
Keep up the great work April!!
Hahahahahahaha–egg your house! You’d hope not. I wouldn’t want to know that info…I like to pay attention to the positive stuff–not the negative stuff.
I absolutely loved this video! and you are totally right about everything you mentioned!
especially when it comes to the negative comments, negative attitude.
The many “arghh or eerrrr or grrrrr ” especially on twitter, which is one of the social media platforms I find very difficult to follow up,can be a headache.
thank you very much for sharing this! Mxo
Thanks Marilou! The negativity makes it less fun to follow up on.
That was bold, April! Your video was very good and helpful. I think I passed. (I sure hope so.) I believe those who commit “Social Media Don’t’s” are sincerely unaware of their errors unless someone tells them. And no one tells them, because no one feels that they are in a position to tell them. It’s like the Emperor’s New Clothes. Thanks, again!
And, I vote for Max! Go, Max! 🙂
Hahahaha…Yes, lots of people are unaware that they are committing a social media don’t and no one wants to point it out. You’re right about that!
Where do I vote for Max?! (lol)
Hahahaahaha…I’ll let him know that you voted for him! 🙂
hahahaha! You totally called me out about SNOW! I hate SNOW! I hate SNOW! You read my facebook feed! I have to share this video-you are so right and PRACTICAL and funny and…you are having an awesome hair day, I ‘m just sayin’.
Thanks Monica! 🙂
P.S. I’m not a fan of snow, either!
What a great video, such great tips. I often get frustrated with people on Facebook and so it was really refreshing to hear your tips. I think keeping personal and biz pages separate is a really good idea, the lines do seem to get blurred otherwise. Going to implement this from now on.
Oh yes and your dogs are so cute! We have a Dalmatian called Ellie, she’s 5 and thinks she’s still a puppy, which we love about her.
Thanks! Niki x
Thanks Niki! Separating the personal and business can make a BIG difference. 🙂
Awwwwww…love it! Dogs are the best.