I prefer to think I’m selective and strategic, though, because here are a few things I just don’t do …
— Accept canned invitations to connect on Linked In (except when they come from CFOs which is my target audience)
— Auto-follow on Twitter
— Send auto DMs when someone follows me on Twitter
— Respond to Facebook requests when I can’t discern any information about the requester because of his privacy settings … and … there’s no personal note attached
And there are a few things that I try always to do …
— Send personal invitations to connect on Linked In and Facebook
— Respond with a personal note on Linked In when I accept an invitation
— Write a personal DM to an outstanding tweep when he/she follows me
— Discern whether it makes sense to “my” network and brand to follow someone on Twitter, connect on Linked In, friend on Facebook … which eliminates anyone with a foul mouth
— Disconnect with someone who sends me an automated “sales” DM after I’ve followed him
It just seems to me that something “professional” has been lost in social networking. I’ve written about this before. The bottom line is that anything you would NOT do in face-to-face networking should NOT be done online. That seems simple enough, doesn’t it?
Perhaps some of the things I’ve listed contribute to a Chief Financial Officer being reticent to jump into the social networking waters. I’d encourage you to come on in … just choose to be a snob about it.
I feel the same way, Cindy. Just because it’s happening over the internet doesn’t mean it can’t be authentic and just because you can sell to the masses 24/7 doesn’t mean you should.
Cindy – Reading that it felt as if I had written it. Great post.
Cindy
Thank you for sharing your Social Media rules.
Unfortunately, some people think Social Media is a game, and the winner has the most connections/followers/friends.
Social Media is not a game. Social Media is a TOOL.
Social Media is a tool to engage with others. Who we engage with and who engages with us defines who we are online and builds our brand.
Some relationships are built in the real world and nurtured online. Some relationships are built online and the nurtured in the real world. Regardless of where the relationships start, the relationships must be real.
On that note, I’m glad you are active in Social Media Cindy.
Samuel
I guess that makes me a snob too 🙂
I actually think you’re in good company, Brenda!
Auto-responders and trackers of any sort are the complete antithesis of “social.” I’d just like to say that I bemoan the disappearance of conversation and communication in social media – and that from experience I can say that Cindy practices what she preaches here. On Twitter recently, she was one of the few to thank me for an answer I gave.
Cindy,
I am a social media junkie, but I am also a social media snob as well. My biggest SM annoyance are those people that I don’t know who send me a canned invitation to connect on LinkedIn, and when I politely reply to them asking them whether I know them, and if so, from where, and if not, how can I help them benefit from connecting with me, they actually get offended or they ignore my question.
I’ve had that happen several times. I’m not asking them this to be snobbish or uppity, I ask them this because I believe in connecting to build quality relationships. I don’t connect with people on social media just to have an inventory of names, so now when this happens on LI I just click the “Don’t Know” button and move on. It’s one thing to lack the common human courtesy of introducing yourself to someone you don’t know, it’s another altogether to be rude when asked to introduce yourself.
As an aside, a true story that happened to me on Facebook that really fueled my social media snobbishness. A young lady whom I didn’t know sent me a friend invitation that knew several of my FB friends.
Without thinking about it, I accepted the friend invite and immediately began going over her profile page…starting with the photos. *lol* What I saw genuinely shocked me…no no, not THOSE kind of photos (though compared to what I saw, I probably would’ve preferred seeing those type of pics instead). When I went to her “My Family” photo album, I saw several of her male relatives posing with an assortment of automatic handguns and pistols. My fingers couldn’t click the “Unfriend” button fast enough.
Granted, it’s not likely I’ll see those type of pics on a LinkedIn profile, and I could have a LI connection right now who has relatives who like to pose in pictures thinking they’re the next Tony Soprano, but bottom line, a professional introduction can make all the difference in what my first impression is of you (sorry for the book).
Great points, Jason. And not at all a book.
Canned invitations from LI are one of my biggest pet peeves. Particularly when the person claims to be a “friend.” I’m not sure why people think the fact that we’re online somehow diminishes networking etiquette, but – sigh – they somehow do.
Appreciate you reading and commenting, Jason. Thanks!