Don’t Be a Jerk – My Social Media Philosophy

I use social media to make friends around the world for marketing and for fun. I’ve made a lot of friends and conducted a lot of business because of them. Not everyone finds it so simple though and often ask me how to get more business via social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook. My answer is simple and clear. To get the best out of social media, you need to have a clear social media philosophy to guide what you do and why. Here’s mine: be generous, be helpful and don’t be a jerk.

Be Generous

Share great stuff. Spread the word about great people that aren’t you. Link to things that your online friends may find interesting. Don’t promote yourself until you’ve promoted lots (and I mean lots) of others first. Earn the right to do even that by building trust over time.

Be Helpful

Earn trust by giving value. You don’t get to decide what that value is, that’s up to everyone else. Connect other people who would get on. Connect businesses who might be good for each other. If you can help people, do it. That doesn’t mean you have to give the farm away. Offer value that doesn’t harm your business but helps those of others. Join the dots for people whenever you can.

Don’t Be a Jerk

Jerks are selfish, they love to bang their own drum. Jerks love the sound of their own voice, so you should allow other people room to speak and avoid dominating their timelines. Jerks love telling other people how to live. Jerks think they’re experts an hour after they start. Jerks think they’re smarter than everyone else; usually they’re wrong about that. Jerks hate it when other people succeed. Jerks start arguments but never end them. Jerks don’t know they’re jerks. Don’t be a jerk.

What is Your Social Media Philosophy?

That’s my own personal social media philosophy. It may not suit everyone, but it works for me. Here’s the deal: I’ve shown you mine, so now it’s time for you to share too. What’s your social media philosophy?