A brand's etiquette guide to social media postings

"To be or not to be: That is the question." This line was made famous more than 400 years ago by Shakespeare's Hamlet; it was at this point in the play that Hamlet meditated on human destiny. The same question is being asked by marketers today as they meditate upon their social media destiny -- and, to many, the answer is a resounding "yes!"

"To post, or not to post" certain content is, perhaps, a more relevant question in the age of social media. It appears that some advice is warranted; a number of companies have recently suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous comments on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere.

Kenneth Cole, for example, made light of the unrest in Egypt in a commercial Twitter message. The company posted: "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard of our new spring collection now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC." The Twitter community thought there was "nothing noble" in the company's blatant piggybacking on the crisis in Cairo to promote its spring collection; followers slammed the company for being insensitive.

So, how can a marketer gauge what content is acceptable for marketing via social media and what is not? Alas, poor marketer, I shall tell you.

To read more of this iMedia Connection article and find out what content is acceptable for marketing via social media, click here!

Carissa Newton | Director of Marketing