The Dos & Don'ts Of Social Media For Business [Infographic]

Have you ever engaged in a conversation online where someone bluntly told you exactly what you could and could not do in social media? If so, you know that doing that is a one way street that pretty much always leads to a dead end. I am of course not saying you should abandon your social media manners, I am just saying that if it wasn’t for creativity, we would have social media at all. If someone goes on and on telling you what you can’t do in social media, it’s probably something you should still investigate to see if you can make it a cleaner approach. No one likes the same message sent over and over again. That’s not what social media is about, especially not social media for business. However, there are some guidelines that could make your social media influence grow faster.

For a business, social media is a vital part of networking and marketing. Some social media platforms solely focus on marketing. Pinterest is somewhat one of those, but the marketing is always secondary in order to appeal to the general user. Without marketing, most of our social media services would make little or no revenue at all. So when you start to think about it, social media is all about getting your message across to as many people as possible. The networking aspect of social networking is to grow your network, which by all means could equate to more customers.

However, it would be rude and obnoxious to say that social media is all about marketing. Social media is also about building bridges and finding like-minded people who are interested in hearing what you have to say as much as you want to listen to what they have to say. That is something that is key to your success and there are of course tips, guidelines or rules (whatever you want to call them) that specify what will increase the return on your investment when it comes to social media for business.

An infographic called The Dos And Don’ts Of Social Media For Business, presented by The Steel Method, has a few sound pieces of advice that might help you initially understand how social media for business works. After you have become a little bit more familiar with the pillars of social media, you can start becoming a little bit more creative with it. Some of the most successful social media marketing campaigns have been out of the box solutions. Social media for business is not as easy as friending a few people on Facebook or starting to follow the most influential people on Twitter. It’s far more intricate than that.

Scan through these simple tips, and get to know them for a while through simple networking on your social media platforms. When you feel the time is right, get a little bit more creative. See if you can find angles that fit not only your own needs, but for the most part, cater to the needs of your followers, friends and fans. If you can do that, you are on the right path to success on whatever social media platform you are using. Social media for business is not easy. It’s a constant reorganization to meet the expectations of your following. Influence doesn’t come cheap these days, but with a bit of invested dedication, the results are well worth the effort.