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24 Social Media "Dos" and "Don'ts"

Does being social media savvy require you to sell your soul? Can you represent Christ in the social media space? I believe the answer to the first is “no” and the answer to the second is “yes.” But there are some rules to follow—some social media etiquette, if you will. Below are 12 “dos” of social media and 12 “don’ts.” Following these guidelines will help keep your time on social media effective and edifying.

DONTS:

1. Don’t tweet mostly about yourself. What you are doing, speaking engagements, travel, how cool you are.

2. Don’t think about an experience mostly in terms of how you might share it on social media. (i.e. when you’re at a beautiful beach on vacation, don’t think about how you can share a picture of it on Instagram)

3. Don’t retweet only things that say good things about you or your book, your product or your brand. Promote others’ content more than your own.

4. Don’t include “Please RT!” in your tweets, use bad English, too many WORDS IN ALL CAPS, or too many !!!!

5. Don’t crowd your social feeds with “check-ins” from all the glamorous places you’ve been. #Humblebrag

6. Don’t tweet or post something in a highly emotional state or without taking time to consider whether it should be shared or not.

7. Don’t post important life news on social media before communicating to your closest friends/family in person.

8. Don’t spend more time on social media than you spend communicating to people face to face.

9. Don’t flaunt your relationships by having public interactions on social media. Talk to people privately. Email, chat, direct message will do just fine.

10. Don’t have awkward fights or edgy back-and-forths in public.

11. Don’t revert to a junior high name-calling voice or pick fights.

12. Don’t tweet something with big implications without running it by a few people. (e.g. “Farewell Rob Bell.”)