Taboos you should avoid while using Social Media

You have your brand. Personal or Business. You are trying to create a name for yourself and you want to put your best foot forward. Whether convincing someone to hire you, or selling your products or services, your brand image defines you. To do this, you need to be careful and be aware that there are certain taboos associated with having a presence on social media. Below I have outlined these for your review, and I hope that you will take them to heart. No one wants a social media blow-up on the hands, and avoiding certain actions will help your brand to succeed, and keep you followers engaged and loyal.

Negativity. The dictionary definition of Negative is the expression of gloominess and pessimism. Just the definition alone is enough to turn you away. As human beings, we have an innate ability to be negative. A lifetime of built up preconceptions of the world, formed and moulded by our parents, friends and everyone we come into contact with. Generally, people want to be happy. They strive and crave that positive and happy emotion. Social Media is the outlet where many now go for happiness. Whether it is jokes, pictures, videos, funny statements, information, or staying connected with family and friends, Social Media is a place to get away and to eke out a small if not fleeting piece of joy. Stay upbeat and positive, otherwise you will drive your followers away. Nothing makes you want to click that "unfriend" or "un-follow" button more than constantly having to read and see negative comments.

Profane Language. I see it quite a bit and to be honest, it is a sure-fire way to kill any chance you have of promoting your brand in a productive way. You come across as being uneducated and incapable of compassion and empathy. The internet can be a permanent place and people are watching. Many employers now watch the social media sites and they gauge whether or not you will make a good candidate. Profanity has no place in the home (in front of your mother), at work, or at school so why swear on-line?  Keep the language pure and nice and avoid the foul statements.

Pictures/Videos of you with alcoholic beverages in your hand. We all have these friends. My cousin's Facebook page always had pictures of her drinking. Now that she has two kids, no more drinking pictures but lots of baby pictures. The funny thing is that I still perceive her as that girl who was always out partying and drinking.  Perception is everything and you need to cultivate that into something that does not give the impression that you live in a frat house. When you are in your twenties, you tend to go out a lot to drink, thus you are happy and that is when you take pictures. Think again. Would you hire someone who appears to only be drinking?

Pictures/Videos of you that are not so nice. I had a picture of me during my Bachelor Party show up on Facebook. Obviously, you cannot control everything that everyone posts (you can control your settings to make sure you approve of it first.) This picture came in before I had set my settings to being able to review all wall posts. It was me in bed passed out sucking on my thumb. The person who posted it thought it was hilarious. I did not. My advice here is to make sure you control what others are posting about you. Again, do you want a future employer or client seeing you in a drunken fetal state after a night out on the town? Likely not.

Using someone else’s handheld/computer to post something on their Facebook page or Twitter feed. This is just common sense, or so you would think. Using someone’s device is an invasion of privacy. It is like going through someone's purse or wallet. You just don't do it. Using someone’s device and logging into their Facebook page to put something they think is funny on their wall or feed is not only an invasion but it is defamation of someone’s character. I had a friend that used to leave his IPhone unattended. Well he posted (or so I thought he did) “I have decided that I am coming out of the closet.” Well the amount of responses he got was unbelievable. I sent him a message saying, is this a joke? He came back with “of course it is.” Really, are you sure everyone else knows that. I found out later that one of his so called friends posted this when he had left his IPhone on a table to go to the bathroom. His mother saw the post and had actually went to him concerned about it. It caused major problems for him with his family, friends, and co-workers. The best piece of advice I can give here is to password protect your device. This will eliminate the problem all together. Whatever you do, do not tell people what the password is!

Making extremely political or radical statements. Like elbows, everyone has an opinion. Many of us live in countries whereby we have the full freedom of expression and speech. This is a good thing. But let’s face it, strong opinions tend to repress the desire to participate and engage. I know when I am looking at my morning feeds, sometimes I see things on there that I would like to comment on. I read them, then I think of the backlash and negative comments it would generate towards me. Again, you do not want your brand associated with strong and radical views. It will keep your potential followers at bay and unwilling to engage.

The image we portray is the basis for our brand’s success or failure. Whether it’s personal or business related, we want our followers and fans to be happy and content with knowing they backed the right brand. A dynamic, positive, constructive, and forward thinking image is your best option to optimize your brand power. Perception is everything today, especially on social media sites, so please avoid the above taboos!