5 social media tips I learned from Charlie Sheen

As you’ve probably heard by now, actor Charlie Sheen seems to have gone off the deep end. He’s hopped from media to media, spouting off about everything from his life and marriage to how much more important he is than his bosses, fellow actors and employees. In the process, he’s had a show stalled and cancelled, lost a publicist and had his kids taken away.

As I listened to all the sound bites on various radio and television shows, one thing became clear: Charlie Sheen’s actions are easily related to social media.  

1. All publicity is not good publicity. Social media is fickle and people will “unfollow” or “unlike” you in a heartbeat. If people are saying negative things about you and your site, sure it might drive people over for a quick (and temporary) increase in traffic…but only to see what is going on. Then, they won’t visit ever again.

2. If you talk crazy, people will think you’re crazy. If you’re always on your social networking accounts spouting off crazy info, talking about issues no one can relate to, or using symbols to make pretty pictures for your tweets and updates, people are going to think you’re crazy. They will unfollow you…and then tell all their thousands of friends/followers how crazy you are.

3. You aren’t more important than your clients, coworkers, bosses or employees. Be careful what you say about people you work with and how you say it. Regardless of what you think, you probably aren’t more important than them. If you spend time on social networks talking about how much more important you are and how much better your work is then those around you, there will be consequences. (Don’t believe me? Google “Facebook fired work” and see what you get.)

4. Admit you have a problem. If you’ve made a mistake, provided bad information or just sounded like an idiot, admit it and move on. Apologize, correct the info or do whatever it takes to get past the mistake. People won’t forget about it easily, but they will forget it faster than you being a jerk who doesn’t apologize.

5. Know when it’s time to go. Sometimes, it is time to fold and move on. You may need to reinvent who you are or the image for your business. This could take some down time–a cooling off period–away from social media. There’s nothing wrong with that. (I’m lookin’ at you, Charlie Sheen and your newly popular Twitter account.)

[author] [author_image timthumb='on']http://www.40momsclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/NewProfilePicBW2Smaller.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]About the Author

Jacqueline Wilson is a wife, mother, published author and freelance writer who is not a social media expert (and has never claimed to be), but does know an idiot spouting off incorrectly when she sees him. (She’s also made her fair share of online/social media mistakes.) She writes here, on 40 Moms Club, and on her daily parenting humor blog, WritRams.com: Writer Ramblings on Parenting Imperfectly. Follow her on Twitter as @WritRams.[/author_info]

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Tags: business, celebs, Jacqueline Wilson, social media

Category: Features, Tech/Social Media