The Misunderstood World of Online Etiquette

If Someone Tapped You On The Shoulder And Said Hello Would You Ignore Them?

Imagine you are attending a business network meeting. Someone comes up to you and taps you on the shoulder and says hello. Would you ignore them?

My guess is you would not. After all, that would be rude.

And you are attending the meeting to socialize and meet other business professionals with the intention of collaboration. Most likely you would extend your hand ( well maybe not so much now LOL). Nonetheless, you would offer some sort of greeting and ask them about themselves. In other words, you would start a conversation.

Social media is really not that different.

When someone "tags" you on a post they are in a sense tapping you on the shoulder and saying hello. Ignoring the tag would be rude. Unless the person tagging you has tagged 15 or 20 people randomly with no meaning. But that issue is for a different post. LOL

What does tagging mean?

Let's say for instance I have shared your post and I tagged you in that share. I am letting you know that I value you and the information you have posted so much that I am willing to share it with my followers. I think that should deserve a big thank you, don't you? After all, I am introducing you to my friends and business associates.

Maybe I have posted an article or video with a question about your thoughts. And I tagged you and a couple of others whom I thought may be interested and have an opinion. This is a good opportunity to have a conversation with me and the others I tagged. In fact, anyone viewing this post could join in on the conversation.

Answer the question

This is an opportunity for you and your company to get noticed by my followers. It is important that you put a little thought into your answer. Who knows who may be "listening" to this conversation and may see the value you and your company bring to the table.

Word of caution.

Just like in person, you would not start handing out your brochures to everyone listening to your conversation.

The same is true online. So online do not add your link in your comment. That is the same as shoving your brochure in everyone's face. In fact, it is worse because you are on someone else's page ( similar to being in their home or their office) Be respectful. If someone likes what you have to say they will mosey on over to your profile to learn a bit more about what you do.

Kathryn Watson has been in business for herself since 1992. She is a speaker, author, and coach.

Kathryn loves to help small service-related businesses ( especially those in the eldercare industry) market using the vast resources of social media.

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