Social Media
Etiquette
(Facebook)
Compiled by: Charity Embley, M.Ed | Elms Learning Center | Goodwill Industries of Northwest Texas | Workforce Development
POSTING AND COMMENTING
IN FACEBOOK
(GOLD STANDARD OF SOCIAL MEDIA)
Facebook
• Friending and unfriending  the main activity
is to connect with your friends, family, and
colleagues both current and long-lost
• But if and when you discover that you don’t
really care about what others do, you can trim
down your friend list
• Just do not announce that you are trimming
down your friend list
Facebook
• Status updates: Facebook is all about the status
update.
• After all, how else would you know what others are
doing?
• But be careful not to abuse the five most obnoxious
kinds of updates: intentionally vague posts, chronic
complaining, meaningless calls to action,
oversharing, and posting too frequently.
• Instead, ask yourself if you really need to share that
thought with the world before you post it
PHOTOS IN FACEBOOK
Edit
• You can simply upload snapshots through
your phone and let people click through at
their leisure.
• But just because you can share all pictures
you took on your long weekend, doesn’t
mean you should.
• Edit down your comprehensive gallery to a
more manageable number, and don't forget
to put the best shots first, just in case people
don't make it all the way through the album.
Tag With Care
• Tagging photos of your friends and family
with their names is a great way to share
your photos, but not everyone wants
pictures of themselves in a bathing suit
splashed across the Internet.
• So adopt the policy that the first time you
post a photo of someone, don’t tag him,
but send an e-mail or message with a link
to the photo.
Tag With Care
• Ask if it is okay for you to post the picture and
whether he is comfortable with being tagged in
the future.
• If you are concerned about the photos that your
connections post, adjust your privacy settings so
that all tagged photos must be approved by you
before they are linked to your profile.
• You can control which photos of you are on
display to your network.
Put Yourself In Your Friend’s Shoes
• As with many things, the golden rule is
applicable here—only post photos of
others that you would want posted of
you.
• So those photo of your friends on a
vacation somewhere is probably better
off staying lost.
Go Ahead and Ask a Friend to Do the
Same for You
• What if someone posts a photo of you that
you don’t want online?
• It's okay to ask for it to be taken down.
• Start by removing your tag to make the
photo a bit harder for your other friends to
find.
• Then contact the person who posted the
photo and ask that it be removed.
PRIVACY AND SETTINGS
Who to Share
• If you’re the type who minds what your
friends share while others are a bit more
laidback about what they share, your
best option is to customize your settings
so you see only the updates you want.
• You broadcast your news only to those
friends who will share it wisely
Who to Share
• To control who sees your status updates,
before hitting “post” each time, click the
drop-down menu that says “friends” next
to the post button.
• By selecting “custom” you can choose
which of your friends see (or are blocked
from seeing) that specific link, photo, or
status update.
WHAT’S THE MOST
ANNOYING KIND OF
FACEBOOK UPDATE?
24%
• Intentionally vague posts meant
to
generate
concern
and
attention
• a.k.a. vaguebooking
• “I wonder whether it’s all been
worth the pain.”
20%
• Chronic complaining, including posting your
personal woes/drama to solicit sympathy.
• “I am fed up with my boyfriend. He takes me
for granted! So you want to leave? Go ahead,
see if I care!” – feeling frustrated
• “Ugh, I ordered chicken, not beef! I am never
ever going to that place!”
• “OMG! Some people really need to take a
shower. Nuff said! SMH!”
19%
• Meaningless calls to action.
• “If you want to fight world hunger, put
the color of your socks as your status
update for the whole day. Let us make
a stand. Whoever makes a comment
or asks a question, tag that person to
take up the challenge”
14%
• Over-sharing.
• “Note to self: Next time, wear a
slip with that wrap dress.”
13%
• Miscellaneous posts
• Including polarizing religious or
political statements, unreadable
txt spk, and game updates.
10%
• Posting too frequently.
• 12:03: Chicken salad or tuna?
• 12:12: Chicken! Thanks for the
responses.
• 12:30: Mayo or mustard?
References
• Appenbrink, K. (2015). The guide to social media
etiquette. Retrieved from
http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/work-lifeetiquette/manners/social-media-etiquette/
• Appenbrink, K. (2015). Practice Good Facebook
Etiquette. . Retrieved from
http://www.realsimple.com/worklife/technology/communicationetiquette/facebook-etiquette