What is your social media style?

I’ve written a social media column in one form or another since 2012, and in that time I’ve been a strict advocate of teaching people to post on social media responsibly but on their own terms.

Or, as I explained to a roomful of journalists once, don’t tweet like me. Tweet like you. But don’t tweet stupid. This general rule of thumb has pretty much stuck with me. It allows you to be true to yourself while staying out of trouble.

Put into even more simplistic terms, the way you post is your unique social media style. Everyone is different.

Some post in full sentences with proper punctuation. Some treat Twitter like a text message, skipping punctuation and abbreviating every word to get the most out of every 240 characters. SOME USE A LOT OF CAPITAL LETTERS FOR NO REASON.

What is your social media style, and what can you learn from it? In the immortal words of MC Hammer (who, coincidentally, did retweet me once), let’s break it down.

Full sentences with punctuation show attention to detail, caution: This is how I post. In my more than 10 years using social media, nothing scares me more than a spelling mistake. If this describes you, there’s good news. If you are this concerned, you’ll likely be very careful to post the right thing at the right time in the right way. I would much rather write two tweets that conform to this style than try to jam them both into the space of one. Which brings us to the next style.

OMG smedia & txts r diffrnt: I get it. There’s a certain giddiness that comes with saving a few characters, especially in a world where 240 characters is all you get. But in that same world, where you are a respected financial adviser responsible for someone’s entire financial future, this style makes you look 14 years old. And even if you were a 14-year-old financial adviser, I’d steer clear. Concentrate on finding better ways to communicate in the constraints you have. You can be an excellent writer in small spaces.

TURN OFF CAPS LOCK. I’ll restate what I said earlier: Don’t tweet like me. Tweet like you. But using all caps is really annoying, whether you’re a financial adviser or President Trump. You can certainly argue that Mr. Trump’s style resonates, but you can also argue that if it were anyone but him, people would have unfollowed long ago.

Here are some other styles with fun names that might describe you:

The copycat: Why spend time crafting the perfect tweet or LinkedIn post when you can just retweet or reshare someone else’s? After all, it says the same thing you were going to, so what’s the harm? Probably none, but only if you read what you re-share. You often see social media profile bios with the line “retweets are not endorsements.” Those lines look smart, but they’re actually dumb. When you retweet on Twitter or re-share on any other platform, you are responsible for that content, even if it’s not your original content.

The visual-izer: Photos. Charts. Graphs. All of these are excellent things to share. They boost engagement. They’re interesting. They save room for text. There’s nothing bad at all about thinking visual first. In general, though, posting a combination of text and visuals makes for a more well-rounded experience for your audience.

The nonthinking oversharer: That’s two for Mr. Trump. Add Elon Musk to this category, too. You’ll spend so much time trying to clean up the mess that it’s not even worth tweeting at all. Use my renowned five-step notepad trick instead: 1) Step away from Twitter. 2) Open Notepad, TextEdit or your editor of choice. 3) Type whatever you want. 4) Close Notepad. 5) Don’t save. You typed it, you feel better, no one was harmed in the process.

Whatever your style, make sure you always follow the rules. When in doubt, run it by your compliance team.

Do you have a style that I didn’t cover here? If so, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe I can help you put a name on how you do social media. Maybe you’re doing something completely unique. Or maybe you need to rethink your current style and find a new one.

As always, if you have a general social media question, please let me know. Tweet questions to me with the hashtag #onsocialmedia, or email me at [email protected].

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