Take The Social Media Etiquette Quiz: Answers

Thanks for being curious enough to find out the answers!

When on social media:
1) Always talk just about yourself and your company.
FALSE –  Promote and recognize others if you want to develop a good reputation. If people don’t like you, they will not do business with you – and no one likes a windbag.

2) Always ask prospects to be friends with you on Facebook so you can then try to sell them your products or services.
FALSE – Think of the guy you meet at a networking event who throws his business card at you before vomiting his 3 minute elevator pitch all over your best suit, then leaving before you can say a word. Was it good for you? Don’t.

3) Definitely post when you’re overly-tired, jet lagged, intoxicated, angry or upset.
FALSE – Before you post or send anything that may be inflammatory or controversial, wait for 24 hours, after which you’ll be able to consider what you’re writing more objectively. Then, you can insult them with clarity.

4) Always use another person, animal or object as a profile picture.
FALSE – Use a head shot of yourself as a profile pic. It’s only fair that others know what you look like. Logos are an exception to this rule, since they do convey your company identity. Selfies are for self-centered…selves.

5) You should constantly let everyone know what you’re doing all the time, like eating or whining.
FALSE – Don’t give constant updates of whatever trivial thing you’re doing. The only person who cares about that is your stalker, and the real joy for him/her is the hunt.

6) When sending a connection request on LinkedIn, you should always rely on the default message “I’d like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.”
FALSE – And I’d like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right now, but exactly how does a banal statement that sounds like pure self-interest help the person with whom you want to connect? In other words, what’s in it for them? Provide information like where you met and why you believe connecting would be a good idea when you send the request. This approach also makes your message unique, just like the recipient.

7) Connect with everyone who sends you a request.
FALSE – I dunno, did you go out with everyone who wanted to date you? Choose your friends and connections carefully. Same as the real world: you’re judged by those with whom you surround yourself.

8) If you have a conflict with someone, you should resolve it offline.
TRUE –  Or, just go ahead and shred them in front of thousands of people, I’m sure they won’t mind. Conflicts with someone should be resolved ONLY between you and them – don’t you do that in the real world? Social media is close enough to the real world, since actions online often turn into consequences offline.

9) It’s OK to use text shortcuts when communicating with prospects.
FALSE – LOL! NO IMHO! Even if the prospect is using shortcuts, you should always write as if your message were a cover letter. The only thing shorthand about your message should be links.

10) It’s OK to stir up controversy when posting online.
PARTIALLY TRUE – Hell, I might be doing it right now – but I don’t give a CRAP what you think. (See what I did right there? I’m so smart – my personalities always tell me that!) As long as you post controversial content rarely, it’s a good way to get more attention – but make sure your post is objective and not personal in any way. To anyone who disagrees, post a courteous, logical and intelligent response. And by all means, NEVER make your post about religion or politics – these are very sensitive subjects to many people (just look at the political rants on Facebook) and will not only lose you business, but friends and followers as well.

Most of these statements may seem common sense to you, but how many times have you seen the things I have described on every social media platform there is?  Thanks for playing, since I’m sure you got them all right – Emily 🙂