This question came to me from a colleague who wondered:
I often deliberate over what I would call “tagging etiquette” on my posts. I have seen tags of about 20 people on some posts. It seems to me to be excessive. On the other hand, I have drafted posts, tagged a friend, then call/text that friend to tell them about it, and finally go back and actually post. I wonder if you have general advice on tagging.
And a good question at that!
I have a few angles on this:
- If the person you tagged is known well enough to use their name without permission, fine, and you know who they are. Perhaps they tag you too without notice. I’d say that’s equal.
- If you don’t know them that well, in your next 1:1 conversation seek their permission to tag them and ask again if you may do so without notifying them. Ask for their honest answer to do so. Everyone has a unique way of thinking about social media and their brand, so be aware you may get a “no.” Honor that as if it were a “yes.”
- If you have a large number of tagged names, try identifying their expertise alongside their name like
@Marc Halpert LinkedIn coach
or @Charlie Birney podcast production maven
to add some identifying info to their name so readers can decide whom to investigate further. Be sure to link to their profile for ease of reference for the reader. The more we see their role, the more we become comfortable with their expertise, should we need to engage them for it.
- Rotate among your list, not always using the same list all the time, but a subset of it, either curated to the topic you’re posting about; or rotate among them over the next 5 points, so after the fifth you have completed the list and start over again on the sixth. The same comment goes for rotating among them as in the bullet point above.
- Have I left anything out? Let us know.
The most important takeaway here is to respect your tagged colleagues, intelligently and honorable. Tags mean they may feel compelled to answer, and if you tag them using some of the above ideas, they will comment more willingly, instead of reluctantly, or worst, not at all.