Skip to main content

Seekhle Kebab Learning Bites: 10 Tips on Social Media Etiquette

Wondering whether to send that friend request to a colleague on Facebook? Or whether to follow someone you like on Twitter but worried should they know? LinkedIn is for professional networking, or for some people is it really?

Taking inspiration from the famous dish – Seekh Kebabs, we have started this series of learning bites with quick tips on a particular topic with easy application in your daily work.

Enjoy reading this Business Etiquette Seekhle Kebab with your favorite chutney i.e. Action on the learning.

In the inter-connected inter-twined online world of today, drawing boundaries is a tough task for each of us, and there are different opinions on the rights and wrongs of social media behavior.

At the same time, we are a brand in ourselves, and our online activity kind of defines that brand as well. Employers these days are sure to skim through social media profiles of shortlisted candidates, many times as part of the background check.

Hence it is important we understand that with great connectivity comes greater responsibility. Cliché!


(Image Source)

Here are 10 general rules you could follow to help maintain a good and consistent brand identity of yourself on social media, for professionals and everyone alike:

1. Choose your friends wisely: Yes, it is not ok to add everyone at work on your Facebook account. The actual relationship comes before the online one, so weigh in your comfort level with the person and then send connection request appropriately

2. Respond… Always (especially on LinkedIn): if someone has written to you, tagged you, or sought your opinion, Respond. It can even be "I’m occupied at present". It is a good professional practice and conveys you value your network and not just what you gain out of it

3. Maintain consistency over multiple platforms: you are your brand and thus it is important to maintain that consistency in your behavior online. It would be odd to see you post a message on positive attitude at work on LinkedIn and then share a “why managers are bad” link on Facebook

4. No complaining, or drunken rants: avoid complaining about work or life on social media, or anywhere actually. And do not post when tipsy, angry, or frustrated

5. Use limited hashtags: we all have seen those posts where the hashtags take up more space than the post itself. Avoid that as it looks overdone

6. Post and Publish carefully: the kind of messages and content we share on social media defines us. Well you may of course contest that, but for someone who doesn’t know you otherwise, it is a reality and they judge you based on what you share online

7. No plagiarism, give credit: copying other’s material and posting as your own is a big no and it kills your credibility. Always give and share credit, and believe me, it all comes back positively

8. Avoid SMS lingo: short text and jargon are really a distraction from the main content. Avoid it and focus on conveying your message clearly

9. Avoid sharing games requests etc.: that candy crush or Farmville request to all friends must be avoided in order to keep a clean profile

10. POSH: certain posts can fall under sexual harassment, and be sure to go through your company’s policy on sexual harassment and be extra careful when sharing something with office colleagues

Ever got into a weird moment on a social platform? Please do share your thought, stories, and comments below.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Internal and External Barriers to Effective Communication: And how to overcome them!

Communication Skills are revered to be the key to success. It is true for an individual, teams, organizations, and relationships. Over time you can improve your skill to communicate and leave an impression on everyone you interact with.  However, when you take the car out on the road you are bound to face some bumps and traffic. In a similar way, there are barriers that hinder effective communication. So, what are the barriers to communication? And how to overcome them? Simply put, we can categorize barriers to communication as Internal & External. Internal barriers correspond to hindrances inside of us, including our thinking, attitude, perceptions, as well as the way we communicate . External barriers correspond to hindrances outside of us, including people and environment-related. Let us look at each in detail. Internal barriers – and how they affect communication 1.  Incongruent Thoughts: when some other thoughts come to our mind different than the conversation we ar
Read more

SMART Goal Setting, Action Plan and Effective Decision Making

Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached. ~ Swami Vivekananda Goal setting is THE process of converting your dreams into reality! Goals help you move towards your ideal future and keep your motivation high in ensuring you achieve everything you desire. Goals can help you determine where and how you must invest your time. Personally as well we set goals many times, especially around the New Year - the untamed New Year Resolutions. According to one statistic, around 80% of people fail to fulfill their new year resolutions. That is why Goals are more effective than resolutions. In many organizations as well setting goals is a standard process at the beginning of the appraisal cycle. However, people usually end up copy-pasting goals from their colleagues or seniors. And by the end of the year, nobody really knows how they fared on those goals, but they do expect great appraisals and high ratings. Learning how to set SMART goals is easy, given the amount of knowledge and i
Read more

Effective Communication Skills: The 5 Stages of Active Listening

In a day, an average person spends 70-80% of their time communicating with someone. And the average number of words a human being speaks per day is around 16000. 50% of our time communicating is spent listening to the other person, ideally. However, most people usually remember only 17% to 25% of what they listen to. And even more shocking is the fact that other people perceive us as good listeners only 5 to 10% of the time. The 1 st step to excellence in communication is listening, i.e.  Active Listening . It is crucial in customer service, and also one of the most desired traits in leaders and managers. Below is a depiction of the stages of Active Listening: First, let us know the difference between hearing and listening. While hearing is a physical process of the body, sound vibrations hitting our eardrums and the brain processing that, listening, on the other hand, involves mental attention and concentration. In Active Listening, the listener also conveys to the sp
Read more