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Social Media Etiquette and Best Practices
Social Media Etiquette and Best Practices
Understanding proper online behaviour and respect
In this era of digital interaction, the timeless principle of treating others as we wish to be treated holds true for our online engagements, just as it does for our personal interactions. George Brown College prides itself on its commitment to creating an inclusive, welcoming and safe learning environment for our community. Similarly, to the commitment inside of our campuses, we are dedicated to extending this commitment to the digital realm.
As an individual, affiliate channel or member of the GBC community, proper online behaviour is crucial in maintaining a positive and respectful digital environment. When leveraging social media as part of the GBC community, always:
Be respectful and value diverse perspectives
Be mindful of others’ feelings and opinions and recognize that the online world is diverse. Act and treat those online as if you were having a face-to-face conversation, and hold space or understanding within yourself, even if your viewpoints are different.
Be responsible for the content you're creating and sharing
With social media being public, it's important to be cautious about sharing sensitive or personal information. Always protect the privacy of others, your community and yourself. As an example, refrain from sharing student/employee information such as employee or student ID numbers or even their email addresses. If information of this nature needs to be exchanged, take the conversation "offline" and into direct messages.
Be mindful of privacy concerns
As a college within Ontario, we are bound to the Freedom of Information and Protection Privacy Act, which includes protecting the privacy of an individual’s personal information, which extends onto social media. Additionally, protecting the privacy and personal information of students, faculty or even staff is crucial to prevent potential breaches.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Engaging in social media as a vital component of your marketing strategy, whether as a brand, an affiliate channel or for personal brand growth, may inadvertently lead to getting caught up in some of the most common social media errors. Let's take a look at some of these mistakes and how we can avoid them.
| Common Mistake | Why is it important? | How to avoid it! |
|---|---|---|
| Overpromotion of your brand or product | The main purpose of social media is to build a trusted community, so posting a high frequency of content that is extremely promotional may not break through user’s busy feeds. | Avoid this by striking a balance between promotional content and content that humanizes your brand. |
| Inconsistent social branding | Making sure your brand is recognizable online helps ensure users recognize and remember your messages. This includes streamlining your logos, colours and fonts, and sticking to them.” | When creating visuals for your social media accounts, ask yourself "If I covered the profile photo, would someone still be able to tell this is from our brand?" This will help you ensure that you're staying true to your brand identity on social. |
| Lack of conversation with your social community | A strong social community is built by two-way conversations between a brand and its audience. Failing to respond to comments (both positive or negative) or messages can make followers feel disconnected, and lower loyalty and engagement. | Aim to check your social media channels daily to moderate any comments or direct messages that are received and respond as promptly as possible. If you're unsure how to respond, the social media team at GBC is ALWAYS around to help support and provide guidance. |
| Not utilizing User Generated Content | UGC helps build authentic relationships with your community, and fosters a sense of belonging. | If you're building out your community from the ground up, consider creating content that encourages this type of submission. Also, consider using any related branded hashtags — such as #MyGBC — to enhance your visibility until your audience becomes more familiar with your brand. |
| Ignoring analytics | The greatest asset of social media is the real-time data and insights a brand or account can receive. Not leveraging the learnings and insights from your social media analytics can minimize your organic social media performance and growth. | At a minimum, look at your content on a quarterly basis, and tailor your content based on the insights. |
Overall, avoiding these five common social media mistakes can help you enhance your online presence and optimize your social media and content strategies.
Strategies for handling negative comments, feedback and conflicts
Establishing a loyal and dedicated social media community offers numerous advantages, however, it's important to acknowledge that it also presents a unique set of challenges, including the need to handle negative comments, feedback and potentially even conflicts.
Here are some key strategies to help you effectively manage these situations as they arise:
Most importantly: stay calm. It's easy to get swept away by a negative mention or comment about your brand. Take a deep breath and assess what you need to do to resolve the situation. Think about the outcome you are expecting and the appropriate path to get there.
Respond in a timely fashion. Responding quickly, in a professional tone, can help prevent the situation from escalating, as long as it’s thought through.
Direct the conversation offline. When possible, move the conversation into private messages or email to handle the situation more directly and out of the public eye.
Acknowledge and be empathetic. Validating a user’s feelings and concerns can go a long way, and can even help change the sentiment of the conversation.
Involve the right team members. In some cases, you may not have the expertise or knowledge for how to answer a specific negative message, or it may need to be escalated. If such a message comes up, consider forwarding the complaint or concern to the relevant department for their input.
Know what to do in case of a crisis. If you find your affiliate account caught up in a viral post that doesn't portray your college-related brand in the right way, immediately escalate the content to the Manager of Social Media at George Brown College and wait for direction on how to proceed.
