Social Media

Etiquette

Zaida Jones

Etiquette sets the stage for acceptable social behavior in all environments (work,
home) and or occasions (weddings, court hearings, etc.). Thus, it should not be
surprising to many that etiquette also applies to social media. In todays technical
society, accessing the tool for success, personally and professionally is essential. This
paper will expose the necessity of social media etiquette by way of the Hootsuite article
The Dos & Don'ts of Social Media Etiquette. The Hootsuite article along other
informative online documents; outline specific reasons for appropriate use of social
media at work and school.
Social media etiquette allows users to maintain an appropriate presence online. It
is important to be viewed as respectable, responsible, or influential within the social
media environment. Thus, decreasing occasions reflecting inappropriate representation.
Therefore, knowing the dos and donts within all platforms is necessary; to be seen in the
best possible light.
The Hootsuite instruction module (The Dos & Don'ts of Social Media
Etiquette) outlined the need for social media etiquette in the workplace. Knowing the
dos and donts of social media in corporate world is an invaluable asset. Social media
users can become acquainted with their coworkers in new and refreshing ways. Thus, the
user is aiding to a community at work; of which affords efficient and effective
productivity for the business overall.
A scholarly article points out three must dos and donts using social media; as
follows. Having a strategy to control the communication aspect of using social media
effectively. Second, having a style is very important to humanizing the conversation.

Last, maintain the correct balance between personal and business conversations.
Therefore, knowing these keys points is vital in the business world of today.
The importance of sustaining social media etiquette also pertains to school. One
teacher felt that her 10th grade students required a lesson; as it reflects posting pictures
online. The teacher asked one of the students to take a photo of her with a sign simply
stating share it. Within three days, the photo went viral with over 47000 likes, 217000
comments, and 315000 shares. The results showed the class how fast a photo travels via
social media. The teacher wanted her students, to be a little more cautious of who has
access to what they post. What if it got into the wrong hands? "Also, some decisions that
we might not think through now could potentially harm us in future endeavors; like the
chances of getting into a specific college, or getting a job (Pelletiere, 2015).
Know what to do or dont do is important personally and professionally. In the
social media setting, it can make or break a persons presence online. If social media
etiquette is not used, the repercussions can mean job loss or the opportunity to make a
friend. Thus, knowing what say and do offline is equally important as knowing what to
say and do online.

Articles (In Citation Form)

"8EssentialTipsforSocialMediaEtiquette|EdmontonJournal."EdmontonJournal8
EssentialTipsforSocialMediaEtiquetteComments.EdmontonJournal,28May
2013.Web.<http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/05/28/8essentialtipsfor
socialmediaetiquette/>.
Brenoff,Ann."6MustKnowEtiquetteRulesForChangingTimes."TheHuffington
Post.TheHuffingtonPost.com,18Mar.2015.Web.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/18/newetiquetterulesforchanging
times_n_6838994.html>.
Jain,SachinH.,M.D."PracticingMedicineintheAgeofFacebookNEJM."New
EnglandJournalofMedicine.MassachusettsMedicalSociety,13Aug.2009.
Web.<http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0901277>.
Pelletiere,Nicole."HowOneTeacherGaveHerClassaLessoninSocialMedia
Etiquette."ABCNews.ABCNewsNetwork,17Feb.2015.Web.
<http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/minnesotasteacherssocialmediaexperiment
viral/story?id=29028366>.
Ramsay,Matt."SocialMediaEtiquette:AGuideandChecklisttotheBenefitsandPerils
ofSocialMarketing."DatabaseMarketing&CustomerStrategyManagement.
MacmillanPublishersLtd.,11Oct. 2010.Web.<www.palgrave
journals.com/dbm/>.
Yuki,Tania."5TipsforProfessionalsNavigatingSocialMedia."TheHuffingtonPost.
TheHuffingtonPost.com,8Nov.2014.Web.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taniayuki/5tipsforprofessionalsnavigating
socialmedia_b_5780414.html>.