Don't Hit That Button
Think Before You Speak!!!
I can't remember how many times I heard this as a kid from many of the adults in my life. You see I was a blurter. That's right as soon as a thought popped into my head, it was coming out of my mouth. "Once you say it; you can't really take it back, " is something I was reminded of often.
This particular lesson has served me well through the years and I am very glad that I worked so hard to learn this lesson. As a business owner, a parent, a wife, daughter... well you get the picture. I think it is a lesson worth repeating in our current world.
With the world at our fingertips, we live in an immediate gratification society. We can converse any time of day or night with anyone in the world. We have access to so much information; good and bad and all we have to do is click a button or type out a comment to send our thoughts out into the world.
In some cases this is great. In other cases not so much. As business people, we have to be aware of our personal brand and how people see us. It is important now more than ever to think before we speak or in the world of social media pause before we hit that button or send that comment or share that post.
Here are a few tips that I have implemented for myself. I hope they serve you as well as they have me.
1. Count to 10 before you comment or hit the reaction button. Ask yourself this simple question, "Would I call that person out in a room full of people about this subject? Would I use negative words to do so?" If not then don't do it in front of 1,000 plus of their social media friends.
2. Read the article not just the title. I have been guilty of sharing a headline only to find out that I don't actually agree with the information in the article even if I agreed with the actual headline itself.
3. Fact check. There are many sites out there that take the time to fact check the information on social media. Usually all you have to do is google the subject and you will find out quickly if the info is accurate. If you don't have time to fact check, you probably shouldn't share it.
4. Meme's are often extremely funny but remember not everyone on your friend's list knows you personally and might not get your sense of humor so this would be a good time to implement that count to 10 rule.
5. Last but not least remember that not only can your friends see what you post and share but so can their friends. The social media algorithms are based on the number of reactions a post gets. In other words, you might post 20 positive posts about your family, grandkids, adventures etc. But the one post that everyone sees might be that one post that doesn't show you in the best light because it is the one that your friends reacted to the most.
Always remember that perception is reality but perception is not always truth. Don't hit that button until you are sure that what you are posting actually represents you the way you want to be seen.
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