I am a huge fan of social media. Whether it be blogs or networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, I love the fact that I can interact with a lot of people I never would interact with otherwise. It opens up a world of knowledge.

There is also an opportunity for companies and people to make serious errors when joining the fray of social media. And when a major mistake is made, it gets blown up online (sometimes more so than necessary). There are some really simple things you can do to make sure your social media experience is the best it can be.

1. Be Authentic (to a point) – Honestly, this is the easiest thing to do. Just be yourself and you’ll naturally attract people that like what you do. But what if you’re authentically a jerk or if you just can’t stop the sales pitch at the end of the day? Think about the way you want to be perceived online.
2. Communicate Clearly – It is easy to get a little loose with the grammar and spelling online but your goal should be to have your content as accessible as possible. That means following basic rules of language are required. Are you going to be perfect? I hope not (that means you’re spending too much time on it). Your errors shouldn’t be distracting from your point though.
3. Stop Selling – If you are getting into social media to sell a product, stop. You’re not going to like the results of that very much. Social media is about communicating with your fans and customers in a really authentic and accessible way. You will get more sales if you do it right because people will recognize that you are interested in adding to the community, not just selling to it.
4. Be Cognizant of the World Around You – If you lack a certain… awareness, maybe getting super involved in social media is something you should take more carefully. You need to be able to see the bigger picture, see the forest through the trees and realize that real conversation comes with disagreements, agendas and egos. Being level is the best way to operate.
5. Give More Than You Take – Let’s say I write a blog post that I want people to share. If I never share other people’s posts, why would I expect them to share mine? And to be very successful, I have to be seen as a giver, not a leech just riding the community for page views. That means you share the love with more than you ask for. Sometimes you get more than you ask for and that’s not a bad situation.

What other rules do you follow?