Savvy Sharing

I know I've posted previously on netiquette but I can't seem to find that post (I need better tags!) anyway it's about time for another rant to share some more thoughts. I hadn't planned this spontaneous post, it was something I just had to get off my chest and a resource I found gave me a shove.

Recently two newish Tweeps representing genealogy organisations I am familiar with have starting tweeting in earnest. I have been concerned that these newbies are not using Twitter effectively to promote their brands or messages.

It appears that they log onto Twitter at a particular time, send out a barrage of tweets and then go away for a few days. What is also unfortunate is that they also retweet indiscriminately posting items that are not particularly relevant to their organisations' missions or aims. Retweeting alone is not satisfactory they must also post original material.

While it is fantastic to see people embracing social media there is a danger that if they donn't think about why, when and what they are tweeting their presence will be ineffective or even annoying.

As I was reading through my RSS feeds this morning I found this very useful infographic originally posted  at http://www.tollfreeforwarding.com/blog/social-media-etiquette-guide/ and shared today by Stephen Abram.

Although it is directed at business the tips are also pertinent to organisations and individuals. The very first point for Facebook "It's okay to update several times a day but space out your posts every few hours" is relevant to Twitter and the new tweeps I mentioned above. 

For a copy of the infographic that you can actually read go here

How much is enough?

I look after a Facebook page for my local historical society.   From that account I have liked several repositories, organisations and societies. I select a few of the posts that appear in the stream to share on our society Facebook page but this task was becoming rather difficult.

Today I unliked Sydney Living Museums not because I don't like them but because of the number of posts they make on their Facebook page, these posts represented more than 50% of the items appearing in our society stream pushing more meaty posts from other organisations further down the stream and perhaps causing me to miss some gems. I have liked organisations like the National Library of Australia and State Records and find that they may post just a few items per day. If all of the places I like on our society page posted as much as Sydney Living Museums then the task of keeping up with news would be impossible.

How much is enough?

I would suggest that repositories, organisations and societies take a look at their posting policies and consider how many posts per day will get them maximum impact. I'm all for responsible posting.

Perhaps I am just turning into a cranky old bag or do you think there is a limit to how many posts an organisation should post per day?