Social Sharing Etiquette – The Golden Rule

At Supernova Media we follow many people/brands in the social media industry. My Facebook personal profile feed is full of people like Mari Smith, Social @Blogging Tracker, InBound Zombie, Hubspot, and GeekClean. We love the content they provide and often share it on our page. We take ideas from them, emulate them, learn from them. But we always, always, give them credit. THAT… is social sharing etiquette. 

As we grow our library of Blogs and Slideshare tutorials we share more and more of our own unique content. We try to share at least 75-80% of our own content. It keeps us on our toes, current, constantly learning, researching, writing and sharing. It’s our passion. What we do. And keeps the blood coursing through our veins.

Recently, we posted a link to our page that was acknowledged and liked by a fellow social media marketer. Thank you! Seconds later, they posted the link to their page without giving credit to it’s original source….us. Proper social sharing etiquette should have been to click the share button at the bottom of our post (which would be visible to their followers) giving credit back to the source.

When playing in the social media playground, remember the lessons you learned as a child – The Golden Rule. “Do unto others, as you’d have them do unto you”. Social Sharing (clicking the share button on a post – or “liking” a post) is a form of flattery, acknowledgement, and accomplishment. By liking and sharing, you are endorsing that person or brand. It’s a compliment. 

Remember to “give credit where credit is due“. The most common form of pilfering is sharing content without giving credit to the creator. Don’t pilfer blog posts, videos or photos and pass them off as your own.  It’s seems like an obvious faux pas but it’s done more often than you think.

Don’t just pilfer and give credit. LINK back to the original source. It’s not enough to credit the source, provide a direct link to the originating article or website.

A good way to ensure your credibility and avoid becoming a social outcast is to remember the good old-fashioned lessons you learned a long time ago. Remember, play nice!

For more on Social Media Etiquette – “Netiquette” read our blog. Also hear our thoughts on the “inappropriate status update“.