By Nathan Ojaokomo

“Women belong in the kitchen.”

Unfortunately for Burger King, this tweet definitely didn’t go down well on Twitter (no surprise).

Although it was only in subsequent tweets that the meaning of the post was explained, the damage had already been done. Burger King faced plenty of backlash and had to remove the post.

Burger King’s mishap highlights the importance of having social media etiquette standards for your company and employees. And in this article, you’ll learn how to avoid poor social media etiquette and mind your manners online.

Social media is now part of everyday life with over 4.4 expected users by 2025. As such, it’s a no-brainer that brands use it to communicate with their customers.

However, just as it’s crucial to practice proper etiquette when conversing in-person, you also need to do the same online.

Poor social media etiquette can lead to terrible consequences for an erring company. For example, in 2018, Snapchat lost an estimated $800 millionafter making a post that seemed to trivialize domestic violence.

If you don’t want similar terrible consequences to your business, then you need to take social media etiquette seriously.

The Benefits of Social Media Etiquette

Here are some benefits of practicing proper social media etiquette.

It makes your brand empathetic

Your audience is your greatest asset, and using proper social media etiquette forces you to put yourself in their shoes. And when you’re in their shoes, you gain a better perspective of their wants and needs.

It helps you recover from fails

There’s no perfect brand, and we all stumble at times. However, with good social media etiquette, you can recover from your mistakes. For example, despite its fail as quoted in the introduction, Burger King managed to turn things around, at least to an extent, with an apology that felt genuine.

It makes your social media campaigns more productive

Social media is a landmine that’s difficult to navigate. However, good social media etiquette can guide you and help you produce good results.

It helps you focus on what’s important

Good social media etiquette reduces the chances of starting a fire you’ll need to put out on social media. Thus, you’ll have time to focus on what’s really important: your bottom line.

It keeps you on the good side of the law

If your platform has privacy and compliance laws, good etiquette will help you stay on their good side and protect you from lawsuits and such.

It keeps you top-of-mind

When you respond quickly to feedback, even positive ones, you show that your customer’s opinions matter.

Therefore, it’ll be easier for your business to stay top-of-mind for these customers.

Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media Etiquette

Each social media platform is different, but social media etiquette transcends these differences and will result in good results regardless of the platform. Here are 5 Do’s and 5 Don’ts of social media etiquette.

Do’s of Social Media Etiquette

1. Stick to your core values

Your core values should …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog