As many of you already know, I spend a lot of time looking at research as it pertains to the use of social media. Honestly, it’s a frustrating business. The information changes constantly, and there’s a fair amount of controversy about some of the “rules” of doing social media well. However, some of the most common questions I get asked revolve around “What’s the best way to ______ ?” Rightfully so: we’re all still fumbling our way around this new(ish) medium, and it’s messy. Social media is simply human interaction, when you get right down to it. And, human interaction has never been simple.
But, experts keep mining the data, and we try to keep up. In the spirit of trying to stay on top of best practices, you may find these helpful:
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- The Internet Is a Zoo: The Ideal Length of Everything Online. What’s the best length for posts on various social networks? Subject lines for emails? Domains? Hashtags? Here’s what (one set of) data says.
- A Creative’s Quick Guide to Social Media Image Sizes. Great cheat sheet of the ideal sizes for profile and cover images, as well as posts, for the various social channels.
- How to Write Better Content for Social Media Quick tips for making the most of the top social media sites, and a nice comparison of the “feel” of each, which can help you customize your content for each one (after all, you should never be posting the same exact thing all over the place, right?).
- 7 Obsolete Social Media Tactics You’re Wasting Your Time On. Remember, the rules change. A LOT. Are you still doing any of these things? Time to stop.
What “rules” do you follow, or wish you knew? Post in the comments.
