The Basics of Social Media
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok have become ingrained in teenage and young adult culture. These sites and apps allow you to share updates, photos, videos, and more while connecting with friends, family, celebrities, brands, news outlets, and people worldwide. With so many users and options, it’s helpful to understand the basics of social media on how major social networks function.
In this beginner’s guide, we’ll break down key features and etiquette rules for using social media effectively and safely. Whether you just joined your first platform or are looking to expand your social media presence, these tips will help you navigate the online social sphere.
Choosing Networks
With new sites and apps continually emerging, the social media landscape can seem massive. It’s smart to focus your attention on just a few platforms that align with your interests and goals. Here’s a quick rundown of popular options:
– Facebook – Connect with friends and family while sharing life updates, photos, videos, articles, and more. Join Groups around shared hobbies, affiliations, or causes.
– Instagram – Post stylized photos and videos to share visual stories. Use hashtags and location tags to connect with a broader audience.
– Twitter – Share thoughts, opinions, news, and updates through 280-character tweets. Follow topics using hashtags to join public discussions.
– Snapchat – Take photos/videos to share brief “Stories” that disappear after 24 hours. Message privately with friends.
– TikTok – Create and watch short, entertaining videos spanning genres like comedy, music, and dance.
– YouTube – Upload or watch longer videos on every topic imaginable. Follow creators and comment on videos.
– Pinterest – Save and organize images from around the web into themed inspiration boards or “pinboards.”
– Reddit – Read, share, and discuss news and niche interests through a forum-like interface organized into subreddits.
Customizing Your Profile
Once you join a platform, the first step is setting up your profile. This allows others to get to know you when visiting your page. Provide key details in your bio like name, location, interests/hobbies, school, occupation, or other identifying information. Profile photos usually include a headshot or full body picture. Background headers can display photos, graphics, or colors representing your vibe or interests.
Most sites allow further customization like color themes, widgets with extra info, links to your other social profiles, and more advanced options. Take time to make your profile aesthetically pleasing while offering a snapshot of your personality by following the basics of social media.
Follow, Friend, or Connect with Others
Seek out accounts from friends, family members, celebrities, brands, influencers, thought leaders, news outlets, organizations, and anyone else providing value. Follow or friend these accounts to see their content in your main feed and interact. Commenting, liking, retweeting, etc. helps build connections.
On Facebook, request friends directly or accept/ignore incoming requests. On platforms like Instagram or Twitter, simply follow accounts without formal mutual approval. YouTube lets you subscribe to channels rather than “following.” Discover accounts to follow based on suggestions, searches by name/interest, or shoutouts from those you already follow.
Posting Content
The main activity on social media is creating your own posts to share with followers. Possible post types include:
– Text updates, opinions, anecdotes, etc.
– Photos from your camera roll – often edited or filtered
– Short videos like TikTok dances or YouTube clips
– Livestreams documenting your real-time activities
– Quotes, memes, news articles, links, or any interesting item from the web
– Poll questions, reviews, event announcements, contests, and other interactive posts
Add captions explaining your posts’ significance. Use hashtags like #Foodie on Instagram or #Sports on Twitter so your content appears in topic feeds. Tag friends or other relevant accounts. Geo-tag your location. Try posting daily or a few times a week to stay engaged without oversharing.
Commenting and Messaging
Responding to and interacting with other users via comments, messages, chats, etc. is core to the social experience. Comment thoughtful, witty, or encouraging responses to posts in your feed. Reply to comments others leave on your posts. Messaging friends directly enables longer personal conversations.
Avoid overly negative, cynical, or argumentative comments. Do not feel pressure to constantly comment or message – it’s okay to just scroll and observe sometimes too. Follow the old adage “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Liking, Sharing, Retweeting (Reposting)
Tap or click platform-specific buttons to like, favorite, retweet, repost, or otherwise show appreciation for compelling posts. This helps increase content’s visibility. Share posts from accounts you follow into your own feed so your followers can enjoy them too.
Quote-tweeting on Twitter adds your own caption or commentary above a retweet. Reposting to your Instagram Story allows you to provide commentary over someone else’s photo/video before it disappears after 24 hours. Strategic sharing helps build community on social platforms.
Direct Messaging and Privacy
Adjust account privacy settings to control who can view your profile/posts. On Facebook and Instagram, set posts to Friends only rather than Public. On Twitter and TikTok all posts are public, but you can make your whole account private. Restrict messaging to followers only to avoid unwanted DMs.
Do not accept friend/follow requests or communication from strangers. Be selective sharing personal info like phone numbers. Disable location tagging as desired. Report bullying, harassment, or unwanted messaging – social platforms provide tools to block abusive users.
Verifying Your Identity
To gain a blue verification checkmark on accounts, social platforms require submitting a form of ID to confirm your authentic identity. This distinguishes official celebrity, brand, and organization accounts from impersonator accounts. Verification is not required but can grant your account credibility and visibility, which is the basics of social media.
The verification process requires providing information like:
– Photo of your government ID
– Photo/video of yourself following prescribed posing instructions
– Phone number
– Email address
– Website
– Reason for needing verification
If you feel verification could benefit your personal brand or business, look into the specific requirements for each site.
Tracking Analytics
Most platforms provide analytics to view key metrics on your posts and overall performance. Instagram Insights, Facebook Pages Manager, and YouTube Studio are among the analytical dashboards to understand your followers and content.
Metrics like follower count, likes, comments, shares, saves, views, and more indicate your influence and engagement. See which post types, topics, and posting times perform best. Identify follower demographics like age, gender, location. Analytics help guide social media strategy.
Promotions and Advertising
Once established, many users leverage social media to promote their personal brand, business, cause, events, etc. Strategic paid advertising or sponsorships can expand reach. Consider promoting popular posts to boost visibility with target demographics.
Advertise to website traffic, app installs, online store visits, ticket sales, donations, or any conversion goal. Partner with influencers in your niche to tap into their audience. Promoted ads follow platform guidelines and Federal Trade Commission rules for disclosures.
The social sphere keeps evolving with new features and platforms. However, learning fundamentals like optimizing profiles, engaging actively yet appropriately, and analyzing performance sets the foundation for social media success. Following basic etiquette keeps your presence professional and mutually beneficial. With responsible use, socializing online can provide connections, entertainment, and opportunities.