Social Media Etiquette Revisited: The Impolite Polite Reminder #peopleskills
by Kate Nasser | 6 Comments »
Social Media Etiquette: Beware the Impolite Polite Reminder
Etiquette matters. It affects how others see us. It affects what they think of us and whether they want to interact with us again. In careers and business, this could mean the difference between success and failure.
In networking when people don’t know each other, social media etiquette is even more important. The first impression we make may be the last impression we make!
Social media etiquette: Beware the Impolite Polite Reminder. Image by Michael Coghlan via Flickr.
Social Media Etiquette: The Impolite Polite Reminder
What makes a bad impression?
- Being selfish. Do for others before you do for yourself.
- Accusing instead of understanding. Don’t jump to conclusions; jump into people’s hearts!
- Thinking you know better than others. Be a curious learner. Social media etiquette tip: Beware giving friendly advice without being asked.
- Presuming familiarity. In existing relationships, you can say certain things because there is trust. Before there is trust, the same things come across as impolite and rude. Social media etiquette tip: Take time to build trust.
- Being pushy. If people don’t respond, pushing them to respond leaves a terrible impression. Even if you call it a polite reminder, it is impolite. I received an unsolicited email about joining some association. When I didn’t respond, I received a second email reminding me that I hadn’t responded. The sender called it a polite reminder. It wasn’t. It was a turnoff.
A reminder is only polite when someone has already said they were interested. Social media etiquette tip: Beware the impolite polite reminder. Not only is it rude, it comes across as pushy, manipulative, and inauthentic.
From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™
Related posts:
9 People Skills Reminders for Great Social Media Networking
Social Media Networking: Are You Using These People Skills
©2015 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. I appreciate your sharing the link to this post on your social streams. However, if you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please email info@katenasser.com for permission and guidelines. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on leading change, employee engagement, teamwork, and delivering the ultimate customer service. She turns interaction obstacles into interpersonal success. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.
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~Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™
Very interesting post Kate.
I wish this post is taught to all social media new comers 🙂
I would add one more point…
Tolerance
There are people who get so it iritated when they view others political or relegious point of view. We have to tolerate each other’s thinking.
Regards,
Khalid
Great addition Khalid — tolerance — for all humanity! Tolerance, love, respect, compassion, understanding. This sustains all.
Many thanks for your continued contribution and support,
Kate
This post definitely resonates with me. I’ve been frustrated mostly by DMs. Most people I’ve engaged with on social media have been positive and polite. It’s the DMs from strangers two seconds after I follow them asking me to like them on FB and LinkedIn. Some even ask me to promote or support their products, services or causes… but I don’t know them or anything about them. We have no trust and really no relationship. Building a relationship build trust and changes everything.
Thanks, Kate!
~ Alli
Oh do I hear you on this one Alli! Without spending time to build relationship, the impression is “gimme gimme gimme.”
Many thanks for offering your comment here.
Kate
But what if you have a start-up and the people list themselves as investors. Is it still rude to tweet them to have a look at your prospectus? In these situations, there isn’t time to develop a relationship.
Hi Robin,
If people list themselves as investors, wouldn’t they have already seen your prospectus? And if you mean they listed themselves as potential investors, then they have shown initial interest in knowing more. I do believe that there is always time to start building relationships. In your case it may be in how you word your email to potential investors.
Best,
Kate