New to the social media scene? With any platform(s) used, take charge and win following these 7 social media guidelines:

1) Brevity rules. Always.

2) Be professional, but conversational.

3) Use bitly or a similar URL redirection service tool.

4) Smiley faces work – often. 🙂

5) Contractions are our friends.

6) In all seriousness, keep it casual.

7) Social media is a worldwide cocktail lounge. Get out there and mingle!

Any other ideas? Did I miss any? What can you add to the conversation?

Duane Drzadinski is a marketing professional, father and social media enthusiast. Connect with him and continue the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn.