In recent years, social media has become the staple of communication. I remember when I was only about 11 years old and I first discovered the wonder of Myspace. This tool (the first of its kind) led the way to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. Social media opened up a whole new world of opportunity and how people communicate with each other and even businesses. However, the power of social media comes with a price if you do not know how to use it. That is why, when it comes to social media, a person must realize who their audience is and what they would like to portray. There are a few key points when deciding to use social media as a platform of communication:

• Start with listening to your audience and observing their activity prior to engagement.
• Create a strategic Social Media plan.
•  It is also important to set goals that you want to achieve overall and pay attention to how social media plays into these goals that you have.
• Set goals that map your overall objectives (personal/professional use).

When you're using social media for personal use, you may have a different audience and a different reason for your posts than if you were using social media for professional use, where your views are projected onto the organization as a whole. In a professional setting, social media can be used as a tool for an organization to communicate with their customers. Customers may use this tool to express to the organization how much their products/services do for them, or possibly what they don't do for them. There are also people who use social media purely to induce negativity, and they will be around no matter the platform. They are called "trolls" and it is best to avoid them and to pay them no attention.

Whether you choose to use your platform for business or personal use, it is always necessary to remember these tips:

• Remember that whatever you post is most likely accessible to others as well.
• What you post can end up on search engines and on other people's news and activity feeds.

These have been the most important lessons that I have learned in my experience and utilization of social media. Listen, create a plan, set goals and be aware of your audience and the content that you are posting. These days where there seems to be a "no limits" attitude with sharing information, which has in turn caused people or businesses a lot of trouble. What important lessons have you learned about social media? Are there any mistakes that you've made on a social media platform that caused you problems? What advice would you like to give others on their usage of social media? I would love to hear your thoughts.