social-media-strategies-class

Today, I wrap up teaching my Social Media Strategies class at Drake. This was the third time I’ve taught the class. It’s always a challenge to teach a class when the topic changes quickly, but it certainly makes for an exciting semester.

The students put together a great final project (which they will share soon on the class Facebook page), that I am very excited about.

I really wanted to leave them with something of value this year. So I decided to write a first draft of my rules for social media. Here’s what I’ll be sharing:

Be kind.

Assume everything you post is public, even if it’s not.

Social media is a two-way channel. Don’t just broadcast. Listen and respond to others.

Above all else be a good community member.

Tweet about them, not about you. Well, mostly about them.

You have an unlimited number of likes, favorites, retweets, comments, shares, +1s, etc. Use them.

Offer value: Be helpful, useful, informative, relevant, actionable, generous, credible, entertaining, fun, funny.

Help those with fewer followers than you.

Give kudos.

If nobody responds to your posts, try something different.

Stop obsessing with getting more followers, and connect with the ones you have.

Have a great about me/profile.

Go ahead and tell us if you just had a great sandwich. It shows you’re human (and the sandwich company cares).

Try new things.

Take the time to understand the privacy settings.

Tell stories. People respond to stories.

Post about things that interest you, and follow others who post about those things.

If you need something, ask.

Break the rules.