I’m no social media expert, let’s make that clear right now. The digital PR and social media landscape changes daily, so if anyone tells you they are the social media guru – run like the wind. Tip: these are the same folks who will tell you they can “make something go viral.”

The only thing I can say with absolute certainty about the ever-evolving social media landscape is that successful use of these communication tools isn’t hard unless you are lazy. The more I read up, the more I find social media best practices among those that are smart, active, succinct and sincere.

Folks always like a good acronym, so here’s one:  be a SMART ASS.

Smart: By “smart” I mean don’t be dumb. What’s dumb? Spamming people is dumb. Only following folks back on Twitter so you can direct message (DM) them with a link to your get-rich-quick scheme or blog is dumb. Calling yourself an expert in something that not even its creators have a true mastery of is dumb. You are not dumb, so you understand.

Active: No Twitter account or Facebook fan/group/cause page, LinkedIn Group, blog or website will yield a return on your man-hour investment if you never use or update it. You’ve gotta engage. It is social media, after all   If you want a lot of followers, you’ve got to Tweet. You’ve got to follow strangers and let strangers follow you. You’ve got to respond to an @ message; reply to a relevant DM. If you don’t want to actively engage you should have started a blog, not a Twitter account.

Succinct: My favorite thing about Twitter is the 140 character limit. I wish a word limit was applied to blog posts and emails, too. It’s why I try to keep my FlackRabbit and Her Nashville posts short (except for this one, oops).  I’m a tiny person, so phrases like “short and sweet” and “brevity is the soul of wit” are close to my heart. It’s a fast-paced world we live in, say what you need to say and peace out.

Sincere: This one is the kicker. PR flacks take a lot of heat for being spin masters – another way to describe insincerity.  You’ve got to be a sincere participant in the social media community if you want folks to take you seriously – same goes for your clients. Otherwise, you’re just vomiting out information on the interwebs. Oh, sure people read it. But they’re not impressed.

So there you have it: my smart ass theory. It ain’t anything new, but it was fun to type.

Do you agree? Have I left something out? Leave a little somethin’ in the comments, por favor!