Ethics and Etiquette for Social Media

Social media has become a huge part of today’s society and is used in ways that can shape politics, business, innovation and much more. It provides an easy platform where organizations and individuals can share news, opinions and maintain contact easily.

The use of social media provides organizations with both challenges and opportunities. By keeping your company’s social media policy in line with your company’s ethical values and your communication policy, the risks associated with social media use can be reduced.

It is important to remember that whenever you connect with a social media network, you are joining a community. In any community, there is an appropriate time to discuss business. You need to be sure to treat the people in your community with respect and kindness. Furthermore, it is importance to respect the boundaries of others. You should always communicate in an honest and open manner. If you show others who you are and what you stand, people will respect you and you will establish rapport. Truth is an ethical value that people respect.

Without communication, you really have nothing. Valuable and mutual conversations get you noticed by other people. Even though your main goal is to sell your products or services, you should never just promote your business. It is totally ethical to use social media sites to spread your message, a message that you believe other people will be interested in and will fulfill some need of others. However, you need to be very careful about your approach. Your purpose is to drive more traffic to your business through your website and blog.

Connecting with people through social media channels is not a short-term thing; it is the beginning of a great relationship that will hopefully endure for a very long time.

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By, Christina Wakefield

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. -Mark Twain

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.