10 Steps For Proper Netiquette

Dear Abby,

It has come to my attention that with the predominance of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as the primary means of communication in today's world, some people don't know how to behave.  Cyber bullies and trolls and even normal netizens with opposing opinions lead the users of these platforms to act atrociously at times.  What's a gal to do?

Sincerely, 

Sick Of Idiots ~ NY, NY

Dear Sick,

Facebook doesn't offer a finishing school, so I get it.  As a society we have forgotten the old adage: 'If You Have Nothing Nice To Say, Don't Say Anything At All.'  People with extremist views can connect with ease to hype each other up.  The ability to do honest research is plagued with fake news sites whose content is swallowed as the honest truth.  The soapbox set-up these sites allow us to stand on and shout our views often lead to real world consequences and every time the original poster seems surprised.  To limit collateral damage to mental health and actual careers, I have compiled a Top Ten List of Behaviors to Strive For And Avoid on the Internet.  Good luck!

1. Adhere to the same standards you would use when communicating in real life.    

2. Don't post angry.  Posting when under extreme emotion starts flame wars.  Use your internal pause button and really ask yourself 'would I be ok if my mom/best friend/grandparent/child read this?

3. Use proper spelling and grammar.  In a world that is dominated by words, using them correctly boosts your online image.

4. Be forgiving of other people's mistakes.  Sure, the same question asked over and over and over again might be frustrating, especially with search functions in Facebook groups and Google searches for the rest, but remember: not everyone has the same user savviness as you.  It takes less effort to scroll past an annoying post than it does to engage in it.

5. Social media should not be updated more times than the amount of glasses of water you drank today.  Feed hogs are usually annoying.

6. Don't mass message people.  Included in that are don't create groups and invite every person on your list to it just to hock a product.  

7. Big Brother is watching.  Don't go in industry Facebook groups and be negative.  Most likely there are higher ups/salon owners/potential mentors seeing you act like a shit.  You could (and we've seen it happen) lose business opportunities.

8. Instagram has a ton of bots.  Get a rush of adrenaline when a quasi-celeb likes your photo?  Don't.  The likelihood is that it's their PR firm or a 22-year old in marketing re-tweeting while on the 405.  Strive for the real life compliment, not a like button on the internet.

9. Don't Feed the Trolls.  Conversely, don't be a troll.

10. Say 'Please' and 'Thank You.'  Seriously.  This goes a long way.

Top Hashtags For 2019

We all use them, we all <3 them, and we all hate them.

Face it: hashtags are wonderfully overwhelming. Most of us in the beauty industry are using Instagram, more than any other social media outlet, to beef up our online presence. Why?

Because a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Taking a decent photo of beautiful hair and posting it online is not enough. To build a following on Instagram, proper hashtaging is of the upmost importance. Hashtagging categorizes your photos that fellow Instagram workers can see when they hashtag surf.  Some hashtags are for personal use and some are followed daily by millions.

It might feel sleazy and manipulative but the truth is that there is an art and an algorithm for success with hashtags. Users are more active at different times of the day and even on different days, so posting during the busy traffic times will help get more attention.  Keeping the initial tags in the picture description to a maximum of three keeps the post clean when you cross it to other social media (i.e. posting to Facebook and twitter simultaneously from Instagram). Don't worry, your picture will still be surf-able.

JUST A HEADS UP!

Instagram has allegedly started to implement shadow-bans on accounts using too many and repetitive hashtags. What does this mean? Shadow-banning is the when we post a photo on Instagram but it does not go into the categories we hashtagged, the location we posted, or show up on our followers feeds. Essentially no one will see our post unless they visit our page. Our advice is to use only three hashtags in each post, changing them up each time. This will help you avoid the shadow-ban.

CLICK HERE to see if your photos have been shadow-banned by Instagram.

Throughout the last few years Destroy The Hairdresser has been experimenting with industry hashtags to see which ones get us the most attention. Feel free to copy and paste the following hashtags into your Instagram posts (only using 3) to get more followers and likes. Make sure you save the hashtags in your notes or somewhere on your phone so you can easily access them when you need them!

#destroythehairdresser #modernsalon #hairbrained #saloneducation #behindthechair #hair #salonlife #beauty #hairstyle #haircolorists #haircolor #hairtutorials #hairtrends #trendyhair #beautifulhair #hairpainting #bayalage #hairdresser #style #hairporn #balayage #haircolor #haireducation #hairoftheday

3 WAYS TO MAKE IT MORE PERSONALIZED

1. TAG YOUR BRAND

Which ever company you are working for or what ever products you use. Tag them.

2. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE DAYS OF THE WEEK

People love a #Transformationtuesday or a #tbt so have fun with it. You can also make up your own like #sassybitchsunday or #SBS (I use that for brunch time) 

3. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?

Hashtag your location. When clients are trying to find new stylist in their area they will search hashtags.