5 Often-Forgotten Social Media Etiquette Rules

2. Observe someone’s habits before engaging with them.

You can’t assume that something you consider to be an essential business tool isn’t considered a distraction by someone else. Twitter might be important to you and your business, but not everyone feels that way. If you prefer to communicate on IM, but notice that a client is always asking you to email them instead, they might not be comfortable with the medium. Someone whose Facebook profile is full of family photos, Mafia Wars updates, and inside-joke wall posts from friends probably sees Facebook as a personal space and may be annoyed if you use it to conduct business.