Remember Cliffs Notes? They’re summaries of longer work, designed to get a student up to speed quickly without having to read the entire book. Sort of a cheat, you might say, but a very effective cheat at that.

There are volumes written about how to succeed dramatically and radically with social media. And then there’s our own version of social media notes, designed to help you become a social media savant in no time.

Ready? Here are the cliff notes presented in a three part series. Below is the first, The 15 Rules of Social Media. The other two will be posted throughout the month of December so make sure to check back for updates!

Remember, these are short but exceedingly powerful. Ignoring any one of them may be perilous to your bottom line.

The 15 Rules of Social Media Marketing:

  1. Help others often, eagerly and without thought of benefit to yourself.
  2. Be patient with others. Remember, you were once new to social media, too.
  3. Share great content.
  4. Forward great content and credit generously.
  5. Thank often and thank liberally.
  6. Be yourself, not a cardboard cutout. Show your personality.
  7. If you don’t have a personality, grow one and then show it.
  8. Blog often and intelligently.
  9. If you don’t know something, say so. Then find out and get back to them.
  10. Don’t just talk – have real conversations. Remember, these are real people, not just avatars and photos.
  11. Find the time for social media. Schedule it in and then just do it.
  12. Use tools to schedule posts and monitor mentions. Social media is one facet of your marketing campaign – it’s not your life.
  13. Don’t automate the whole process. Be there. Reach out and interact. Find the balance between automation and the personal touch.
  14. Laugh at yourself. Tell tales on yourself. Show your human side – people aren’t friends with Superman, they’re friends real people who have real challenges and real faults and can laugh at themselves.
  15. Admit your own mistakes and then move on. The mistakes make you human, but dwelling on them makes you annoying.

Still not sure if what you’re doing is right? Contact us today for a detailed analysis of your social media account and recommendations on how you can get the most out of your social media marketing efforts.