Social Media Etiquette Guidelines For On-line Coaching
Social Media Etiquette: How to Play Fairly in Online Training
When you look at corporate social media practices, there are two elements. First, appropriate behavior in the office, and second, appropriate etiquette for training. There are also two aspects to social media in online training. You could focus on teaching your team how to use social media properly. Or, you could be more concerned with guidelines that apply to them during online training. For example, they don’t want them to use their phones in the middle of an online training module. Or, you can focus more on teaching them how to run your branded accounts. In this article, I’ll focus on the latter by highlighting 8 social media etiquette rules that apply in online training.
8 Social Media Rules You Should Follow In Online Training
1. Keep accounts separate
Some organizations have a strict policy against social media. They block all platforms in the office because they don’t want their employees to be distracted. In other cases, blocking is a more practical proposition: Social media is sometimes very content-intensive, so all usage can stifle office bandwidth and slow the network down. This prevents other employees from doing their job because the internet is not fast enough. Train them to use various online tools.
2. Name devices
If this is not a problem in your workplace then you are likely allowing and possibly promoting social media use. Train your team to separate their personal and branded accounts. You can open the account in different browsers. Or you have one account on your phone and the other on your computer tablet. This minimizes the likelihood of cross-posting. It also reduces openings for account hacking, as designated gadgets can be left in the office at night.
3. Teach them to use Platform Manager
When preparing your team for professional social media use, invest in an aggregated app. They allow you to log into multiple accounts at the same time. This is useful if you manage more than one brand. It could also be a handy networking tool. You can have your individual account in one column and the branded account in another column. This helps limit the potential for accidentally posted content.
4. No #FollowBack
Corporate learners should also learn the difference between personal and professional use. Their personal social media accounts can often inform the brands they manage. This can be a good thing as it generates content and increases engagement. However, they should not all imitate their individual usage habits. Brand accounts, for example, need to be more sophisticated in how they follow / befriend accounts. There has to be a strategy involved. Likewise, they shouldn’t make closed social media groups vulnerable to marketing contributions by inviting influencers or third-party companies to join. Remember that a closed group should give your employees a place to openly share their thoughts and ideas. Instead of worrying about being inundated with branding posts.
5. Always attribute
As a single user, you can often get images from Google or share / retweet follower content. You could even “steal” tweets. On a professional level, this could lead to a lawsuit. So make sure that social media etiquette is respected. Train your team to match images, content, and even quotes. It only takes a few extra minutes. Get them into the habit of making formal requests (preferably in a public digital space) before sharing pictures. This is crucial if the image is not watermarked. Remind them to never post anything without a hat tip, handle, or a mention of the author. You may think that posting an infographic or re-sharing a video will benefit your co-workers. However, you should also give loans where loans are due.
6. Show your personality
The most important aspect of social media in online training is character. You don’t want your branded account to sound like a robot. But you don’t want to wade into risky waters either. Create a distinctive brand personality and teach your digital team how to embody it. If your company account has changing employees, they can give the account their own note during their service time. This is a learned skill that increases engagement and wins customer loyalty. But give your team some solid PR training so they know where the limit is and avoid getting too tight.
7. Check out the hashtags
If you use too many, they become annoying and lose their purpose. But as a branded account, you have the option to have a conversation and make it go viral. Stick to one hashtag per campaign, two if you have to. Train your team in intelligent hashtag generation. Ask them to look for potentially problematic translations as this could mean something different in another language. You should also look for alternative interpretations or misspellings.
8. Play nice games with others
Every now and then there will be an online dispute. It is possible that an employee shares a resource that is deemed inappropriate by a colleague. Or someone gives unwanted feedback that is misinterpreted. However, as per social media etiquette, employees must play nice with others and respect each other’s opinions and thoughts. This also includes a good level of diversity and inclusion online training. For example, they need to be aware of the fact that their distant colleagues come from different backgrounds. Hence, they use different wordings to get the point across or find certain images / phrases offensive.
Conclusion
Social media etiquette in online training is so much more than choosing the right grip. Average online training courses focus on how to gain followers or how to log in and out. Proper online training goes deeper into branding etiquette. It shows you how to bring PR and customer care together to create a strong online presence for your brand. Train them to separate their personal and branded accounts from day one. You should have an assigned device or browser for each account. Make your corporate learners familiar with social media management software. Teach them to choose hashtags wisely and limit their use. You should also express the brand personality while adding a little bit of your own. And you should never post anything without credit.
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