One of the great features of social media is the opportunity to compliment people in a very public way.

However, as with most opportunities, this one comes with challenges. For example, how do you handle a situation when you are asked to write a recommendation on LinkedIn or Facebook and you aren’t comfortable doing it?

People have their own standards regarding how they respond to such requests and to giving social media kudos in general.

Here are my suggestions, based on my own experience, as well as on information I have gleaned from others in my years of using social media.

 

7 Tips for Providing Kudos via Social Media

1. Be genuine and authentic in what you say and how you say it.
2. Provide the kudos on the social media platform(s) where the person being complimented is most active.
3. For LinkedIn recommendations, make sure you have selected the position for which you are recommending them. Some people list many positions, and a recommendation needs to be connected to a specific position.
4. Take the initiative and write an unsolicited compliment or recommendation for someone – it will make their day!
5. Only endorse people for the skills with which you are familiar, such as on the endorsements feature of LinkedIn.
6. If you blog regularly, periodically feature other people in your blog. It gives them recognition in a direct and specific manner, while allowing them to showcase the skills you are recommending.
7. When mentioning someone in a status update on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or other site, include a link to their page on that site and/or a link to their website.

 

7 Things to Avoid When Providing Kudos on Social Media

1. Avoid flowery or fancy language. Instead use easy to understand words and phrases.
2. Avoid generalizations, such as “He was great to work with.” Instead, provide specific examples of how the person’s services and/or products positively impacted you or your work.
3. Avoid typos and other errors. Double-check your spelling, punctuation, and usage so your kudos look and sound professional.
4. If you don’t feel comfortable writing a requested recommendation, simply tell the person you would rather not. You don’t “owe” anyone a recommendation.
5. Don’t write a recommendation, make an endorsement, or do anything similar for the purpose of soliciting one for yourself.
6. Don’t be shy. It’s OK to ask a client, co-worker, and/or other colleague to write you a recommendation or provide another type of kudo. But, as mentioned earlier, be aware that they may not be comfortable doing that and accept a polite no gracefully.
7. Don’t take a recommendation for granted. When someone endorses you, recommends you, or praises you in any way on social media, thank the person who wrote those positive things about you – ideally on the site on which they made the positive comments.

 

How About You?

What is your approach to writing social media kudos? What challenges have you had relative to the kudos you have written or the ones that have been written about you?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.

She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.