The 36 Rules Of Social Media

Fast Company (one of the only magazines I still buy a paper copy of) recently asked social industry leaders what they thought were the fundamental rules of social media. I loved how they presented the information found (pictured below), and these 5 really resonated with me:

#5. As monetization attempts to go up, consumer experience goes down. In my experience, it’s really important that social remains social. Not only does turning followers into dollar signs always backfire, but long-term relationships aren’t sustainable if you’re always looking for a buck.

#12. Not everything will work, and that’s fine. Embracing failure is such an important part of social. Be sure to test out your efforts on a small-scale before launching social campaigns – it’s ok to make mistakes if you’re learning what the consumer wants.

#14. EVERYONE’S an influencer. Whether a person has one follower, or one million followers – they’re still influencing someone. Remember that social is a public arena – and everyone can see everything.

#15. If fans distribute your content without permission, offer to help. This should be a no brainer, as a large part of this community is all about sharing content. It’s obviously preferable that your content is the stuff that’s being shared, and that turns into traffic, new fans, and new followers!

#35 Think past vanity metrics like followers. This can not be stressed enough. Quality over quantity – followers can be bought, but smarts and great content are the valuable metrics.

Image Via Fast Company

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