A lot of ‘back scratching’ goes on on social media. If I ‘like’ your page on social media, or subscribe to your blog, or follow you on Twitter… you might feel obliged to like or subscribe to or follow me in return.

Of course, there are those social media users who do connect to you in the hope or expectation that you will do so in return. Often doing so is a great thing to do, but it isn’t always. In this blog post, I wanted to talk about when you should return the favour on social media, and when you shouldn’t. 

When You Should Return the Favour

When someone new connects to me on social media, on whatever platform, I ask myself the following questions.

• Are they in a similar industry to me? If the new connection is also concerned with social media/writing – then it’s likely that I’ll be able to learn from them. It’s great to connect with other social media users from your industry, as you can be inspired by the information they’re sharing, the way they’re using social media and more. And of course, there’s always a chance that you may be able to help each other out or collaborate.
• Are they in a similar location to me? I think it’s really valuable to connect with social media users who are located in the same area as me. Building a network of local users can help you to keep up with events and happenings in your areas, as well as local opportunities.
• Are they interesting? Regardless of location or industry, if someone connects with me  I’ll take a look at their profile to see if they’re interesting. If I’m interested in the kind of updates they are sharing and I want to continue to receive those updates…. returning the favour is a no brainer.

Often, my answers to the above questions aren’t positive ones. If a new connection isn’t in a similar industry to me, isn’t located nearby and isn’t of interest to me… it’s likely that I won’t choose to connect to them in return.

It follows that if someone doesn’t fit into the three categories that they may be a spam user. If they;

• Have a large disparity between the number of people they follow and are following
• Have a nonsensical username/bio
• Have only minimal updates
• Don’t have a profile picture

The Benefit of Returning the Favour 

The key thing to remember when someone connects with you, is that you don’t know why they’ve done so. If they are what I define as a ‘genuine connection’ (i.e. they’re not spam and fit into the three questions above) I do tend to return the favour and say hello.

After all, you never know why someone has chosen to connect with you. Maybe they’ve heard great things about you from a contact. Maybe they’ve met you at a recent event and you haven’t put two and two together. Maybe they really like what you have to say. Maybe they know of an opportunity that may be perfect for you. And maybe, just maybe….. they want to work with you.

‘Returning the favour’ to genuine connections can be a great way to build your online network and increase the possibility of new opportunities.

When you think about using social media for your business, do you think about it only in terms of getting business or in larger terms of enhancing your business experience? For many, social media is so much more than a marketing tool. With more people than ever working freelance from home – networks on social media have become colleague-substitutes! Contacts on social media can provide you with great links, great entertainment and great recommendations.

For me, this is certainly true. I’ve been self-employed since January 2010, and building the network I have on social media has been a huge part of my success. Yes, I have ‘sold’ to some of my network. But more importantly, my network have recommended me to others countless times; they’ve shared links that have informed and inspired me; they’ve been someone to chat to when I’m having a bad day; they’ve been someone to share news with when I’m having a great one; they’ve always had an answer for my questions; and they’ve put me in touch with professionals who have been able to support me and my business.

Running your own business is not an easy way to make a living, you don’t need me to tell you that. But surrounding yourself with positive and informed circles of people can make the whole thing a little less daunting. When using social media for business – I suggest building a network of other businesses and individuals who you are genuinely interested in and inspired by. Doing this, and working to develop these relationships, can lead to the creation of really valuable contacts.

For businesses new and old, big and small; social media has so much more to offer than just an additional marketing channel. (And of course – don’t forget to think about how you can support the people in your social media circles in return!)

Two weeks ago I started to write a blog post about the importance of first impressions on social media. It ended up being about Mr Darcy, I called it First Impressions (Or, How Your Online Presence is Like Mr Darcy). If you haven’t read it yet, you might want to take a look before reading this post. (I promise, the Mr Darcy part does make sense).

Now that we’ve established the importance of making a good first impression on social media, I wanted to share some tips to help you do this.

Get Your Spelling Right It might seem boring, but limiting your communications to 140 characters doesn’t mean that spelling and grammar are no longer important. A typo or misspelling in any of your online communications can make a potential customer look twice, and not in a good way. Checking for typos, spelling mistakes and correct grammar before posting will save your professionalism being questioned. Also avoid ‘text speak’ like the plague if you don’t want your company to look like it’s being run by a thirteen year old.

Keep Things Relevant A couple of weeks ago I spotted a food supplies company tweeting about the X Factor. Yes, a lot of your customer base are probably talking about the X Factor… but that doesn’t mean that you should be talking about it unless you have a context for doing so. If you’re tweeting from a business account under a business name, stick to subjects relevant to your company and industry.

Be Nice and Polite There is a (happily disappearing) myth that manners don’t matter on social media channels. I don’t think this myth could be any further from the truth. Being nice and polite is as important as it’s ever been. Saying please and thank you can be a great way to build relationships to potential customers. Sound simple? It is. If someone retweets you, say thank you. If someone comments on your Facebook page, respond to them as soon as you can and thank them for their post.

Fill In As Many Profile Details As Possible For a business, not uploading an avatar/profile picture on a social network is a big mistake. As is not making the most of the profile info opportunities each network gives you. Once again, remember that this is likely to be the first contact a potential customer has with your company – make sure you’re clear about what you do, where you are, your brand and where more information can be found (i.e. your website).

Any other suggestions for making great first impressions on social media?