In 2012, a KitchenAid employee posted a disrespectful tweet about the president’s family from the iconic cookware brand’s official Twitter account during the first of three presidential debates. Retribution was swift in the form of complaints and criticism from KitchenAid’s community of more than 25,000 Twitter followers. To her credit, KitchenAid’s brand manager quickly followed up with an apology for the offensive tweet: “Deepest apologies for an irresponsible tweet that is in no way a representation of the brand’s opinion,” the company said in a follow-up tweet, after which it posted the following message on its Facebook page: “Hello, everyone. My name is Cynthia Soledad, and I am the head of the KitchenAid brand. I would like to personally apologize to President Barack Obama, his family and everyone on Twitter for the offensive tweet sent earlier. It was carelessly sent in error by a member of our Twitter team who, needless to say, won’t be tweeting for us anymore. That said, I take full responsibility for my team. Thank you for hearing me out.”

The episode illustrates perfectly what you shouldn’t do (offend your audience) and what you should do: Act swiftly and sincerely to correct mistakes when you make them.

“When you put something offensive out there on social media, you can’t take it back,” says Amber Pankonin, MS, RD, CSP, LMNT, of Lincoln, Neb., an active social media user and founder of StirList, a website that allows users to search for, create and share recipe “playlists.” “But you can admit to it, apologize and respond.”

Common Social Media Missteps

There are as many ways to abuse social media as there are to use it. Along with political rants, social media faux pas include:

• Spreading incorrect or outdated information
• Using offensive language
• Making defamatory statements about individuals or organizations
• Being argumentative
• Badmouthing a client or employer
• Complaining excessively
• Failing to cite information sources
• Using incorrect spelling, punctuation or grammar
• Bragging excessively
• Selling or promoting instead of informing and engaging
• Ignoring comments from friends and followers, and
• Being perpetually negative.

The 5 A’s of Atonement

1. Admit. When you make a social media misstep, admit it, advises Sue Reninger, managing partner at RMD Advertising, a Columbus, Ohio-based firm that specializes in social media strategy for food industry clients. “If you [make a mistake and] say nothing, people are going to draw the conclusion that you’re hiding, that you’re uneducated or that you simply don’t care, all three of which can be damaging to your personal brand.” The sooner you admit the error, the better. “In the social space, [people] expect an immediate response,” Reninger adds.
2. Acknowledge. It’s important to acknowledge that mistakes can impact others and to empathize with those who may have been affected. For example, KitchenAid’s brand manager directed her apology not only to the general public, but specifically to the Obama family.
3. Apologize. “I’m sorry,” goes a long way, according to Reninger. “If you’ve made a mistake, apologize for misspeaking and apologize for how it must have offended someone. Be short, be very human and be very direct.”
   Adele Cerhs, president of Epic PR Group, an Alexandria, Va.-based public relations firm that specializes in crisis communications, recommends no-caveat apologies: I’m sorry not I’m sorry, but … “You’re simply acknowledging them by saying, ‘I’m sorry you had a negative experience. I’d love to discuss this with you offline,’” says Cerhs. “You’re closing the loop on a customer service issue, and you have to do it publicly.”
4. Act. Correcting mistakes is just as important as apologizing for them. “If you make a mistake, that mistake is living and breathing on social networks for a really long time — especially if you don’t address it correctly” says Cerhs. Corrective action could range from eliminating an offensive post to promising to double-check science before making recommendations.
5. Accept and move on. The final and most important step, according to Pankonin, is moving on. “You have to forgive yourself,” she says. “Start producing valuable content again in order to rebuild trust. We’ve seen it plenty of times with celebrities: They goof up, they apologize, people forgive them and we all move on.”

Everyone has family, friends and interests outside of their careers. It’s important! But once you reach a certain level in your professional life — a high position in either your place of employment or through your volunteerism — expectations are raised for demonstrated leadership. In short, you have become more exposed.

Protect yourself and your reputation (and the privacy of your friends and family) by keeping your personal life separate from your professional social media activity. That doesn’t mean you can’t post a message of support to your local sports team or retweet (RT) a great photo, but you shouldn’t post messages about religion, politics, other sensitive issues or personal details from your professional account. Think of it as prevention: “If I do this, will thathappen?” Maybe. “Do I want to risk my reputation or my organization’s reputation over it?” No.

2. Post a Professional Photo to Your Professional Profiles

Do not use a candid snapshot that crops out someone with their arm around your shoulders, and never use a photo where tobacco and alcohol are visible.

3. Use Your Full Name and Credentials in Your Professional Profile

Your first and last name identifies you as an individual, and your credentials identify you the food and nutrition expert. Don’t be cute, HotFoodie65.

4. Disclose Your Leadership Position

This is important if you ever plan to share messaging about your organization or profession from your professional social media profiles. (Not disclosing your position could even be a potential liability.) For example, leaders of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics would use the following:

Twitter examples (limited About Me space):
i. @eatrightPRO Board of Directors
ii. @eatrightPRO House of Delegates
iii. @SCAN DPG chair

Facebook/LinkedIn examples (more About Me space):
iv. Board member for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
v. Member of the House of Delegates for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
vi. 2015-16 Chair of the Sports, Cardiovascular and Nutrition DPG

5. Disclaim Your Messaging in Your Professional Profile

Be sure you are qualified to represent your organization. For example, only the president, president-elect, past-president or a media spokesperson of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics may publicly represent the Academy. Note: Your place of employment may appreciate or require this as well.

Twitter examples (limited About Me space):
i. Tweets are my own.
ii. Opinions are my own.

Facebook/LinkedIn examples (more About Me space):
iii. Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of the Academy.

6. Don’t Be “Too Social on Social”

If you are at a business meeting or attending an invitation-only professional event, you shouldn’t post photos of wine toasts or dinners, or messaging that could be perceived as either inappropriate or an irresponsible use of organizational member dues. “Did I spend the day in meetings?” Yes. “Do I deserve a nice meal and some downtime?” Yes. “Do I really need to tweet about it or share photos of said downtime?” No, especially if your followers may feel they are footing the bill. Think of the unintended consequences before posting.

7. But Feel Free to Be a Little Social on Social

When you’re at a state annual meeting, FNCE® reception, Public Policy Workshop social outing or other social event in which you are engaging with the general membership, it’s perfectly fine to take a picture or post messages about the social event. It’s even OK if you have a glass of wine in hand as long as you don’t look like you’ve had too many and the reception is a social event that is part of a larger professional conference for which members can register and attend.

8. Be Aware Before You Share

Always think hard before you post a message on social media. “How could this wording be misinterpreted? What ramifications might come from this message or photo?” In addition, be sensitive to perceptions of endorsement. Avoid tweeting or posting about specific products or brands from your professional profile. Yes, you have a disclaimer, “Opinions are your own,” which is a legal safeguard, but the only true safeguard is: When in doubt, just don’t do it.

9. Choose Your Channels Wisely

No one has time to engage effectively across all social media channels, all the time. Decide where your organization will focus its resources. The three main channels for Academy members are:

• LinkedIn, for professional networking only. It is arguably the lowest-maintenance social channel in terms of time commitment, but it’s still smart to check once a week to ensure you don’t miss any connection requests or messages.
• Facebook, historically for social engagement but now being used (by some) professionally. FB talks a big game about privacy controls; however, its privacy rules change regularly, and it is difficult if not impossible to prevent certain kinds of sharing in your feed. It is strongly advised that you do not try to manage personal and professional “friends” and activities from the same account.
• Twitter, the highest maintenance channel in terms of response expectations. It moves fast, and you have to move fast with it — especially as leaders who will frequently be pursued by members (or potentially targeted by critics).

10. Stay Positive!

Engaging in social media can be a productive way to support messages and foster community. It’s also a playground for negative naysayers and individuals who may think they are social savvy, but actually are not. You usually can spot them through passive-aggressive (or just plain old aggressive) messages, and their social engagement is much like a bull in a china shop. Many hang their “expertise” on the number of followers they have rather than qualitative engagement metrics. The trick to dealing with a bully, harsh critic or a “friendly time bomb” is to be polite and avoid them otherwise.

By its nature, social media is an opportunity to crowdsource and share ideas, but it can be a slippery slope to ranting or negativity. Your organization’s members will look to you, as leaders, for cues on how to engage, so set a good example by keeping your posts positive and enthusiastic!

LinkedIn is a 21st-century White Pages that lists not only members’ names, but also their jobs, education and skills. Essentially, your LinkedIn profile is a virtual resume that you can share with colleagues and contacts. Using it, you can:

• Find new job opportunities
• Discover new clients and customers
• Market your products and services
• Establish yourself as a thought leader
• Solicit information, opinions and advice
• Recruit employees and vendors
• Conduct background checks on companies and individuals
• Research potential employers, employees, partners and competitors
• Get free publicity from bloggers and journalists

Using LinkedIn

The more time you spend on LinkedIn, the more valuable it will be. Getting started, however, takes only four steps and a few minutes:

1. Create your LinkedIn profile.

Using LinkedIn is free and starts with creating a profile. To do so, visit LinkedIn.com and click “Join Today.” Upon opening an account, you’ll be guided through a series of steps to create your LinkedIn profile. Because it will improve your visibility and maximize your opportunities, the goal is to have a profile that is 100 percent complete. By LinkedIn’s standards, that means your profile should include:

• A photo: LinkedIn is all business, so choose a professional photo.
• Past jobs: List your current position and past jobs you’ve held — 100 percent complete profiles have at least two — along with descriptions of your roles. Doing so allows you to highlight your past experience and connect to former colleagues.
• Your skills: LinkedIn will suggest skills you might have based on your job and experience; complete profiles include five or more skills.
• A summary: Write a summary about yourself — a cover letter, of sorts — describing who you are and what you have to offer. Think of it as the LinkedIn equivalent of an elevator pitch.
• Your industry and location: Filling out your industry and postal code will put your profile in relevant search results for recruiters, journalists and others seeking someone of your expertise and experience.
• Your education: Listing your degrees and alma maters will help you build your network.
• Recommendations: Complete LinkedIn profiles include at least three recommendations. Once you build your network, you can solicit recommendations from former employers, peers and clients.

2. Develop your network.

LinkedIn profiles aren’t public. To see them, you must be connected to users, either directly or indirectly through a mutual contact. To create these key connections, you can import contacts from your email account, search for people you know or view a list of potential colleagues and classmates that LinkedIn generates using your profile. When you find someone you want to link to, click “Connect” to send a request.

3. Leverage your links.

Successful LinkedIn users actively use the networks they create by:

• Posting and answering questions using LinkedIn Answers, which allows you to query your connections — or the entire LinkedIn community — for advice about professional conundrums;
• Joining LinkedIn Groups to make new connections and contribute to professional discussions;
• Exchanging recommendations with colleagues, clients and contacts;
• Using the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile?” feature to meet new people;
• Searching for partners, employees, vendors and service providers based on connections’ recommendations;
• Using the “Jobs” function to search for or advertise open positions;
• Performing a “People Search” or sending an “InMail” (LinkedIn’s internal message system) to get introductions to people you want to know; and
• Using the “Advanced Search” feature to locate individuals with a certain job title, skill set, background or location.

Spending a few minutes to create a profile, build a network and contribute to the community will keep the door to new opportunities always ajar.

Pop-up ads usually open in a new window, generally using JavaScript, a popular programming language. While pop-ups can be helpful in some cases (e.g. online shopping) they can be a nuisance and sometimes can even harm your computer if they contain malware or spyware. Fortunately, your browser provides a free way to block most pop-ups.

Note: When adding web addresses to a pop-up ban exemption list, make sure to copy and paste the addresses to avoid any misspellings that may allow pop-ups from rogue addresses.  

Internet Explorer
Click on “Tools” at the top right of the browser’s page. In the drop-down list that appears, click “Internet Options” (found at the bottom of the list).  Click on the “Privacy” tab. Under the “Pop-Up Blocker” heading, select “Turn on Pop-up Blocker.” If you want to allow pop-ups from a specific site or sites, click on “Settings” and add the site’s URL. Click “Close” and then “OK” to close the Internet Options window.

Chrome
Chrome automatically prevents pop-ups but if you want to enable certain pop-ups, here’s how. Click the Chrome menu, an icon on the top far right displaying three horizontal lines. Select “Settings.” Click “Show Advanced Settings” located at the bottom of the page. In the “Privacy” section, click the “Content Settings” button. Scroll down to the “Pop-Ups” section and click “Manage Exceptions.” Add the web address(es), click OK and then OK again to close the “Content Settings” window and save your changes.

Firefox
Click on the “Tools” option and then “Options.” Under the “Content” heading, check the box for “Block Pop-up Windows.” To allow pop-ups from certain sites, click “Exceptions” and add the URL. Click “Close” and then “OK.”

Safari
Go to the top right of the page and click on the icon resembling a spoke. On the drop-down menu, select “Block Pop-Up Windows.”  If you want to allow pop-ups for a certain site, unclick “Block Pop-Up Windows” when you go to that site. Safari doesn’t provide the option to automatically allow pop-ups for selected sites.

Step 2: Run an Anti-Virus Program

Make sure you have anti-virus software installed on your computer. Check that it’s up to date and regularly run a full site scan.

Step 3: When in Doubt, Don’t Click

You might have software, such as adware or spyware, on your computer that is opening pop-up windows. Don’t click on a link or download a program unless you know it’s legitimate. For example, adware and spyware can be downloaded along with free music share programs that will use your Internet logs and surfing information to generate pop-up ads. This spyware tracks the websites you visit and then builds a user profile that generates pop-up ads that appear to be coming from a site that actually isn’t supporting the ad. You can download Spybot Search & Destroy, a free antispyware utility that targets adware, malicious code and other threats.

Here are nine tips for managing your online presence to ensure a positive, professional and consistent message:

1. Google Yourself
Want to know the simplest way to get started? Do what your patients do: Open a browser window, go to Google.com and search for your full name. Next, search your full name again using other search engines such as Yahoo! and Bing, checking the images tab and using the “incognito window” feature. Once you have a baseline understanding of your online image, review and update the most important items first. For example, you may need to update your LinkedIn profile with your latest job, or tweak your Facebook privacy settings. Then mark your calendar to repeat your searches in two months – for certain sites, it can take roughly four to eight weeks for your new information to appear (or disappear) in search engine results.

2. Keep Track of Your Online Accounts
Create a spreadsheet listing all your online accounts. This list should include Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and any other social networking or blogging sites on which you may participate. Also include your employer’s website, as you may find your name here too! Don’t forget to update this list as you sign up for new accounts! You’ll have a quick and easy reminder of where to make changes in the future.

3. Make Professional Accounts Extra Searchable and Private Accounts Extra Private
Don’t want your family vacation photos on display for everyone? Good thinking. On your spreadsheet, note which accounts enhance your professional image in the eyes of clients and colleagues, and which should only be open to a private network, such as friends and family. Log in to each searchable account and configure your privacy settings accordingly.

4. Identify Your Unique Message
Follow a simple branding exercise to create a consistent message to use across all your professional accounts.

1. Write three or four short descriptors of yourself (i.e. registered dietitian, sport enthusiast and vegetable lover).
2. Use these descriptors to write a short (about 150 characters) description of yourself (i.e., “I’m a registered dietitian and sports enthusiast with a passion for incorporating vegetables into every meal.”).
3. Write a 150-word bio about yourself; include your descriptors, current position, education and other credentials, plus some fun facts.
4. Update your professional accounts with one or more pieces of your message document, so searchers see a similar story about you with every link they click.

5. Share Your Bio with Friends, Colleagues and Your Employer
Take time to send your descriptors and bios to five to 10 close friends. Ask: “Does this describe me? What other words or phrases might you add? Are there any areas I should highlight more or less?” You also should reach out to your employer to get their social media policy and to review your bios. Scared of the feedback? Don’t be! Receiving constructive feedback from friends and colleagues is much better than making a negative impression to potential clients.

6. Create a Professional Email Address
Having an email address designated solely for professional purposes helps you track your online accounts and enhances your professional image when communicating. Free email addresses are readily available. Make sure to update your current professional accounts with this new address.

7. Update Searchable Sites with a Consistent, Professional Picture
Uploading the same one or two pictures to all your professional, searchable accounts is a great way to create subtle brand consistency. Next time you dress up for a work event, take a few minutes to find a well-lit place with a neutral background. Have a friend or colleague take a dozen pictures of you from the shoulders up. Pick the picture that represents you best (i.e., friendly, smiling, with your shoulders covered). Then, upload it to as many sites as necessary.

8. Take the Time to Do the Bare Minimum
Don’t feel the need to be active on all sites. Just make sure the first three to five links that come up when you search for yourself are ones that represent you best. Choose the sites that are most commonly accessed by your clients, and deactivate any accounts that you don’t have time to support. Services like About.me and LinkedIn are very searchable options that don’t require a ton of maintenance. Remember, too, that you control the amount of information you want to upload. Often your current employer, education and a succinct description of why you like being an RD is enough.

9. Check on Your Brand Once a Quarter
Once you have taken the necessary steps to get your online image where you want it, set aside time once a quarter to maintain your image. Go back to your original branding exercise and see if anything has changed. Then update each site with any new info. You also can use this time to set up an account on a new service you may want to try.

Regardless of the amount of time you want to spend online, taking a few minutes to start this process can significantly improve your professional image. Remember, you likely wouldn’t try a new restaurant or buy a new camera without reading some type of review. Potential clients probably feel the same about seeing a dietitian.

What are you waiting for? Google yourself today!

Underutilized, however, it could result in missed opportunities. If you’ve taken the first step toward creating a profile, you may be wondering, “Now what?” To make sure LinkedIn is helping and not hurting your career, follow these best practices for optimizing your profile, your network and your presence.

Paint a Picture

Your LinkedIn profile is one of your best opportunities for introducing yourself to the professional community and is often the first impression you’ll leave on a potential client or employer. It’s up to you to make sure you’re portrayed in a professional light, from the photo you select down to the experience and skills you include.

Start with a photo you’re proud of. While a corporate headshot isn’t required, photos should be more professional than personal. Avoid photos that include pets, goofy expressions, inappropriate clothing or loud backgrounds. By default, your most recent job title is your LinkedIn headline. Consider changing it into a personal branding statement that reflects who you are and what you have to offer. A good profile also has a compelling summary statement — a brief cover letter, of sorts — describing who you are and what you have to offer. Think of it as the LinkedIn equivalent of an elevator pitch.

It’s important your profile reads like a resume, not a memoir. Just like a good resume, your work experience is best presented in bulleted form so recruiters, prospects and other contacts can quickly search, scan and scroll their way through it. The LinkedIn feature “endorsements” allows your connections to endorse you for the skills you’ve listed in your profile.

Therefore, be sure to include a comprehensive list of skills for which you want to be known. The more complete your profile, the better.

Get Noticed

Equally important as having a complete profile is making it easily available to those who want to view it. With that in mind, you should increase your profile’s visibility by making it public, which maximizes your exposure by allowing it to appear in search engine results. You also can make your LinkedIn profile easier to find and share by claiming your vanity URL. For the best results, choose your name (or a variation of it) as a stronger alternative to the web address LinkedIn automatically assigns for your page.

Utilizing keywords is another way to make sure your profile gets in front of the eyes you want to see it. Pepper your summary and job descriptions with keywords you want to be associated with. If you specialize in celiac disease, for instance, make sure your profile includes terms like “wheat,” “gluten-free” and “food allergies” so your profile will show up when people search LinkedIn for those terms.

Connect with Purpose

LinkedIn is all about networking, but you shouldn’t invite just anyone to connect. While you may be able to get away with tastefully adding people you’d like to network with online, LinkedIn recommends only adding people you actually know, and will ask you to indicate your relationship with that person when sending an invitation. To link up with second-degree connections, you can use the “Get Introduced” feature, which requests an introduction from the connection you have in common.

In addition, although LinkedIn provides a template message for inviting a contact to connect, you’ll get better results if you customize your request with a personalized message that politely explains who you are and why you want to connect (e.g., to stay in touch after meeting them at a conference). Joining LinkedIn Groups — for people who work in the same profession, who went to the same school and who have the same interests — allows you to chat with members, exchange resources and view their profiles, even if you’re not connected to them. For example, the Academy has its own group, which members are encouraged to join.

Have a Presence

It’s not enough to just create a profile. Spend some time each week working on your online presence by building a network and contributing to the community, which will keep the door to new opportunities always ajar. Don’t be afraid to share links to work you’ve published or articles explaining industry trends on your feed or in groups. Exchanging recommendations with colleagues, clients and contacts is another way to provide value as a LinkedIn connection.

With the right network, you’ll be able to search for partners, employees, vendors and service providers based on connections’ recommendations. You can even advertise a job opening — or look for a new job for yourself — with the robust “Jobs” function that allows users to drill down on openings based on job type, industry, salary and location, and see who in their network is connected to the company or job poster.

Ultimately, participation and reciprocation are the keys to successfully using LinkedIn: Those who are most active get the most out of it. Likewise, those who give their contacts recommendations, advice and introductions are most likely to receive the same in return.

Create an Account

Go online to www.twitter.com and sign up for free. Start by filling in your name, email address and select a password before hitting the “Sign up for Twitter” button. You’ll be prompted to accept or change the automatically generated username , and then accept terms and conditions. A confirmation email will be sent to your inbox and then you’re ready to get started.

Twitter will guide you through a short, optional process to find people to follow and you’ll be prompted to upload a profile photo and a short description of yourself and why you’re online. (Note that unless you choose to make your account private in the settings menu, your profile and tweets are public and anyone can follow you.) If using Twitter for professional networking, be sure your profile picture and description are professional and use industry keywords (e.g. “registered dietitian nutritionist” and “health professional”) in your profile. This will help potential followers find you.

Build a Following

The next step is to find people you want to connect with and follow them. Twitter will automatically make some suggestions, but you also can search for people or brands you know (follow us at @FoodNutriMag). The tweets of people or organizations you follow will show up in your news feed in real time. You also should ask others to follow you. Send your Twitter username (or, “handle”) to friends, family and colleagues.

Learn the Lingo

Twitter users employ a slew of abbreviations to communicate effectively and maximize the 140-character-per-tweet limit. Here are some basic Twitter terms to know:

• RT: A re-tweet is used when someone directly copies and re-publishes another person’s post for his or her own followers. It’s like quoting someone.
• MT: A modified tweet is like a re-tweet, but MT means something was changed and the tweet is different than the original.
• DM: A direct message is a private inbox conversation that no one else can see but you and another user.
• @: Type the @ symbol directly in front of a Twitter user’s handle to engage them in conversation. The user is notified when someone mentions him or her by using the @ symbol.
• #: A hashtag is a clickable hyperlink that begins with the pound sign (#) and then some letters or word(s) that group together Tweets about that topic (e.g. #RDN will show all tweets using that hashtag pertaining to registered dietitians nutritionists). Use hashtags to grow your following by creating or joining meaningful conversations you find via relevant hashtags. You can search for pre-existing ones, or you can create your own. Just be sure you don’t include any special characters in the hashtag, as this will break the hyperlink.

Know When to Choose a Direct Message Versus a Public Reply

If a discussion with another Twitter user is sensitive or contains private details, do not reply publicly. Instead, use the direct message option to continue the conversation privately.

Re-Tweet Deserving Content

If you come across engaging content, pass it along to your followers. Ideally, your Twitter feed should be a mixture of your own original content and relevant content that others post.

Finding Apps

You don’t buy apps at brick-and-mortar retail stores. Instead, you buy them online in an “app store” that’s accessed through your mobile device. When you purchase an app it’s downloaded directly to your phone or tablet. Here’s how to find the app store on your device:

• Apple devices: You can download apps for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch in the Apple App Store using either your device or your computer. On your computer, download iTunes from Apple’s website, install and open it. Once you’ve launched the software, click “iTunes Store” and then choose “App Store” from the menu at the top of the screen. You also can access the App Store directly from your device; simply find the “App Store” button on your home screen, then tap it.
• Android devices: Apps for Android devices are available via the Google Play Store. On your mobile device, simply locate and tap the “Play Store” button. On your computer, visit play.google.com/store.
• BlackBerry devices: BlackBerry’s app store is called BlackBerry World. Find the appropriate button on your device, or visit appworld.blackberry.com/webstore on your computer.
• Microsoft devices: Apps for Windows devices are sold in the Windows Phone Store, accessible via the apps button on your device; the “Store” tile on your PC, if you’re using Windows 8; or at windowsphone.com/store.

Choosing Apps

There are thousands of apps available. A good strategy for finding the cream of the crop is browsing the list of “top free” and “top paid” apps in the app categories that most interest you, whether business, games, health or travel. Online reviews — whether in the app description itself or in magazines — can also offer helpful insight before you buy.

Once you’ve found an app that interests you, use these tips to decide whether it’s worth downloading:

• All app stores include user ratings and reviews. Low ratings are a sign that the app may not work properly or fully deliver its promised service.
• Look at the date of the app’s last update. If it hasn’t been updated in many months, the app has been abandoned by the developer and may be outdated, have technical bugs or lack customer support.
• The best apps typically include clear summaries and screenshots selling the app’s top features; apps that lack these typically are of poor quality.
• Make sure the app description includes who the developer is and a link to the developer’s website with contact information, such as an email address. If the developer isn’t listed or its website lacks contact information, the app might not be trustworthy.
• If you’re concerned about privacy, make sure you read the app’s “permissions,” which disclose what personal information (e.g., your phone and email contacts, call logs, Internet data, calendar data, location data, etc.) the app will access and for what reason. Each app store treats permissions differently. Google Play, for instance, has a “permissions” tab on every download page. Apple, on the other hand, doesn’t list permissions in its app store; instead, it requires developers to provide permissions when users first launch the app, allowing users to “accept” or “reject” them. Only install apps that access information you’re comfortable sharing.

Buying Apps

While many apps are free, most cost between $0.99 and $4.99. A few cost more. Whatever the app’s price tag, in order to purchase it you’ll need an app store account. When you click “buy” to purchase your first app, you’ll be prompted to sign in. Apple users who already have an iTunes account should sign in using that account (likewise for Android users who have a Google Checkout account, Windows users who have a Microsoft account and BlackBerry users who have a BlackBerry ID). If you don’t have an account, you can create one from inside the app store by following the step-by-step instructions. Once you have an account set up with a saved credit card, you will be automatically charged whenever you purchase an app.

Installing Apps

If you’re downloading an app directly to your device, it will be installed automatically. If you’re downloading an app to your laptop or desktop computer, you’ll need to transfer the app to your phone or tablet using the USB cable that came with your mobile device. In most cases, the phone or tablet will automatically “sync” with your computer once the two are connected.

Using Apps

Most apps don’t come with instructions since, unlike computer software, apps typically are designed to be intuitive. Once you’ve found, purchased and installed the app, using it should be as simple as tapping it with your fingertip!

• Topic: LinkedIn Groups can be based on common professional interests, experience, affiliations or even goals. They can range from general to specific and could be themed around a job (e.g., Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Business Owners), subject matter expertise (e.g., Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition), objective (e.g., Food Trends Think Tank) or patient population (e.g., Families with Food Allergies). Keep in mind that the best groups relate to their creators’ businesses, but aren’t about it.
• Name and Description: Your group’s name and description should communicate exactly what your group is and whom it’s for. Overly creative names could cause confusion. Instead, be explanatory and use strategic keywords that will place your group in relevant search results.
• Membership: LinkedIn Groups can be open or closed. Anyone can join an open group and the group’s discussions are visible to the public. Closed groups, on the other hand, are private, which means the group owner must approve a request to join. Both groups have advantages. Open groups, for instance, grow bigger, faster, allowing you to maximize your exposure and contacts. Also, open groups’ discussions are indexed by search engines, which could help you build your personal brand. Because they’re more exclusive, on the other hand, closed groups might attract more engaged members — including high-level executives or contacts who may feel more comfortable participating in private discussions.
• Rules: Establish rules for how your group will operate. A common rule, for example, is prohibiting spam and self-promotion. Whatever your rules, craft a policy that explains who qualifies for group membership, what members can expect to get out of the group, and what behaviors will and won’t be tolerated. The goal is facilitating a community that serves members without selling to them.

Promoting Your Group
Build your LinkedIn Group by reaching out to prospective members using these techniques and tools:

• Groups Directory: Although you can keep it private, including your group in the Groups Directory will make it easy for people to find.
• Your website: LinkedIn offers badges you can post on your website, blog or even in your email newsletters to drive group traffic.
• Invitations: Instead of spamming your entire network, strategically send personalized messages to relevant individuals. Explain why you want them to join, what you think they could contribute and how you think they could benefit.
• Cross-marketing: Every time you promote yourself or your business is an opportunity to promote your group. If you do public speaking, for instance, mention your LinkedIn Group during your presentation. If you attend trade shows and meetings, put your LinkedIn Group on your business cards. Use other social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook to post about interesting discussions taking place within the group.

Engaging Your Group
Without your active participation, your LinkedIn Group will wither. Drive engagement in your group by:

• Contributing content: You should be not only facilitating group discussion, but also adding to it. Pose a weekly question to the group, start new discussion threads, share links or job leads, comment on discussions or use the LinkedIn Polls application.
• Curating membership: You can individually approve who is accepted into your group as well as what can be posted. Although it’s time consuming, this allows you to create a high-quality group. Many groups, for instance, only approve LinkedIn members who meet certain criteria, such as location or job description. Likewise, many groups maintain high-quality content by moderating discussions and removing off-topic posts.
• Featuring good discussions: You have the ability to mark discussion threads as “featured,” which pins them at the top of your group’s discussion board. This allows you to promote the most valuable group content, enhancing the group’s value.
• Sending group announcements: Using the LinkedIn Group Announcements feature, you can send up to one email announcement per week to your group members. Your weekly email could highlight active discussion threads; your personal blog, website or podcast; or webinars and events you’re hosting. Just make sure the information is relevant to your readers. The emails will come from LinkedIn — not you — so recipients and their email servers are more likely to recognize them as trusted communications.

Facebook Page vs. Facebook Profile

What’s the difference between a Facebook “page” and a Facebook “profile?” In a nutshell, a Facebook profile is personal. It’s where you post photos from your family vacation, funny anecdotes and connect with friends.

A page, on the other hand, is professional. It’s where you promote your business to current and potential clients.

Facebook does offer a number of profile privacy settings with the intention of managing professional and personal audiences, but those settings and policies change frequently.  So before you “friend” colleagues or clients, first ask yourself whether you really want to share the same information with business associates as you do with friends and family. If you don’t, a Facebook page can help you silo your networks successfully.

Creating Your Facebook Page

You must have a Facebook profile in order to have a Facebook page. If you’re not on Facebook, therefore, step one is creating your profile, which you can do by visiting Facebook.com and clicking “Sign Up” (Facebook will walk you through the process). Once you have a profile, you can create a page by following these steps:

1. Visit Facebook’s “Create a Page” tool, where you can choose one of six page types. RDs who do business under a company name should choose “Company, Organization or Institution” while those who operate under their own name should choose “Artist, Band or Public Figure.”
2. When you choose a page type, select the appropriate option from the “Category” dropdown menu. RDs creating a “Company, Organization or Institution” page, for instance, might choose “Food/Beverage,” while those creating an “Artist, Band or Public Figure” page might choose “Business Person.”
3. Click “Get Started” and follow the instructions to create your page.
4. Personalize your page, starting with photos. You’ll need a personal photo and a cover photo: the personal photo should be your logo or a professional headshot, and the cover photo ideally represents your line of work. Also important is the “About” section where you describe who you are, what you do and what services you offer. Include your email, phone number and a link to your website or blog so potential clients can get in touch.
5. Now you’re ready to add page content. You can post photos, videos, links or text. Because this is a business page, however, keep it professional. RDs and RDNs, for example, can post nutrition tips and advice, links to articles about diet and exercise, recipes they’ve developed or information about products they recommend. (Remember that there are rules and ethics about paid endorsements! Read more about that here.)

Promoting Your Facebook Page

Once you’ve created a professional Facebook page, your goal is getting people to “like” it. When someone “likes” your page, they may see your updates in their news feeds. And the fact that they “liked” your page may show up in their friends’ news feeds. Share the link via other social media sites — for instance, share with your Twitter followers and LinkedIn connections.

Other ideas for publicizing your page:

• Add “Like Us on Facebook” to your business card and email signature.
• Add a Facebook “Page Badge” to your website and/or blog.
• Try paid advertising to reach Facebook users who are interested in food and nutrition.

Using Your Facebook Page

Like any social media channel, a successful Facebook page requires fresh content. Consider the following tips for maintaining your professional page:

• Post something to your page every day to keep it in followers’ news feeds. It could be a link, a photo or even a question for your followers to answer.
• Keep your most important posts at the top of your Facebook page by “pinning” them. To pin a post, click the pencil icon beside the post and select “Pin to Top.” This will move the post to the top of your page and mark it with an orange flag. Posts can stay pinned for up to seven days.
• Whenever possible, include a photo in your posts. According to Facebook, a photo album or picture generates twice the engagement as other post types.
• Use Facebook Insights to find out when people engage most with your posts —morning, noon or night — then try to make posts during that time period.
• Add apps from the Facebook App Center. There are more than 500,000 apps to choose from — many of them free — that you can use to enhance your page. If you’re an author, for instance, you can add an e-commerce app that allows people to purchase your book. A polling app allows you to survey followers. Or, use a slide-sharing app to add presentations and documents to your page.

Finally, if someone posts on your page or comments on your content, respond. Being a good Facebook citizen means not just posting to your page, but also interacting with your followers.

Make Your Board Beautiful

The whole point to Pinterest is that is a visual representation of who you are and what you are interested in. To that end, successful boards are those that present interesting resources as a collection of art—hence the term Pinterest “curator.” So don’t clutter your boards with logos or distorted low-res images. Even if your pin links to a good article or resource, if the image is boring or pixelated, it’s far less likely to be clicked on, much less repined, by your followers. You’re also less likely to gather followers in the first place, so make your boards as visually appealing as possible. (This goes for your website to! See Why Artwork Matters.)

Be Discerning and Eclectic

Mix it up! If your board is “Kitchens,” it might include photos of architectural interiors, innovative appliances, building materials and cooking gadgets, in addition to illustrations and infographics, and articles about home food safety, cleaning tips and window herb gardens. The more diverse your collection, the more interesting it is to others and the more it says about you. Try giving your boards broader, more inclusive titles at first, which will make it easier for you to build them up. You can always separate them into more specific categories later.

Write a Good Description

Whether your pinning from another website, uploading your own images or repinning from another curator’s board, what your pin says is as important as it looks. Be descriptive! Instead of “Chicken recipe,” write “Roasted Saffron Chicken with Apricot Chutney.” Even if you’re not the original source of the pin (see next tip), this is your board—so add your personal touch. Also, pin descriptions are a good way to market your message. (For example, when Food & Nutrition pins a recipe, article or video by or about a registered dietitian, we say so in the description. That way, all our follower see it whether they actually click on the pin or not.)

Pin from the Original Source

If you’ve been reading any tutorials or blogs about Pinterest, you’ve probably noticed the “original source” references. It’s a little confusing at first, but this is what it means: When you are Pinning from the Internet—meaning you’re online and you’ve found something you want to pin—make sure you’re on the actual destination page. What that means: Say you do a Google Images search for “zucchini recipes.” You select a picture from the results, click on it, and it expands the picture. Do not pin from this page! Instead, click on the actual website where the image is found, check to make sure it’s the final destination page, and pin from there. See illustration:

Google Results

Above: Results from the Google Images search for “zucchini recipes.” Let’s click on the first image—a photo of what looks to be vegetable pizza.

Photos from RD’s Blog

Above: Hey, what do you know? This photo is from an RD’s blog! But we don’t want to pin at this point because if we do, then everyone who clicks on the pin will be taken to Google. That’s no good—for our followers who think we’ve pinned a recipe (when all we did was pin a photo), and for the owner of the image who is not getting any credit or recognition (in this case, Dietitian on the Run) because our pin isn’t taking people to her site. So the next step is important: Click on “Website for this Image” in the upper right.

Dietitian on the Run

Above: Now we’re on the website from which our Google Images search pulled the pizza photo. What we need to is check the URL (web address) to be sure this is a destination page. To clarify: The website is http://dietitianontherun.com. The destination page—which is the actual page of the website that has the zucchini recipes and pizza photo—is http://dietitianontherun.com/2011/08/02/summer-zucchini-recipes/, and that is what we want to link. Behold the original source! Now we pin.

Pin It

Above: Select the photo, write a snappy description, and there you have it.

Unfortunately, just because you are now a pinning pro doesn’t mean everyone follows good pinning practices, so be just as diligent about your repinning. Read Food & Nutrition’s Guide to Righteous Repinning.

1. DO Know What You’re Repinning

Spammers and evil-doers rely on the trust and good intentions of the public, so don’t repin something unless you check it out first. Say you are on your Pinterest Home screen and you see that someone has pinned a photo of a delicious-looking spinach casserole with the description, “Recipes for baked garden casserole with parmesan sauce.” Looks good, sounds good, and it’s perfect for your “Vegetarian” board. Before you click that Repin button, FIRST find out where it goes. If it’s legit, you should end up on a website with the recipe for the casserole. If it’s spam, you’ll end up on some unrelated commercial site (or if it’s a prank, possibly somewhere naked, if you catch our drift). If it goes to Google or to the homepage of a website that looks like it could have your recipe on it somewhere, the pin was not properly pinned in the first place. Don’t repin it. Instead, take the time to look for the original source—then pin from there. And then send the first pinner a link to Food & Nutrition’s Good Pinning Guide.

2. DON’T Pilfer Other People’s Boards

The beauty of Pinterest is that it creates a community of members with similar interests and allows folks to express their individuality by curating boards. If you find someone who has a board that you admire or is filled with items that you enjoy, sure, repin a few! But don’t go through and repin everything—all that does is replicate their curation work (not cool) and make it look like you built the board yourself. And they’ll know it, too; all your repins will show up in their activity log. That said, there are some folks who won’t mind pilfering, namely the users whose pins are their own material. For example, if @FoodNutriMag pins articles from FoodandNutritionMag.org, of course we want those pins repinned (and repinned and repinned) because it spreads our articles about nutrition and health. But Susie-the-Pinterest-user who has spent hours surfing the Net and scouring blogs and bookmarks to build her boards will probably not appreciate having someone repin every single one of her pins to their boards. 

3. DO Return the Repin

When someone repins an item from your board, take a look at their profile and see what you have in common. Who knows? Maybe they have a board or two you’d like to follow. There is no hard-and-fast—or even unspoken—rule about this, but if they look legit, we think it’s just nice to repin something from a user who has repinned a few of your items. In addition to a friendly interaction with a follower, repinning also acknowledges that you have noticed them and that you appreciate the follow. (Hint: Repinning also can be a gentle but effective way to let someone who is pilfering your boards know that you know. If you sign into Pinterest and see that in the span of an hour, someone repinned 100 of your pins, repin a couple, or several, of their pins. Usually they’ll stop.)

4. DON’T Pretend You Were the Original Pinner

If an item was properly pinned in the first place, repin it. Don’t click on it, go to the website and pin from there as if you were introducing the pin for the first time. Repinning is sharing and spreading items, but it also gives kudos to the person who introduced it to you. Instead of pilfering by repinning (see tip 2), some clever users will pilfer boards by reintroducing your pins as their own. Is it against Pinterest Rules? No, but we think it’s rude—especially when they copy your carefully crafted description and pass it off as their own. So repin with respect and enjoy the interactions that it can foster! 

“Transparency is an important guideline to keep in mind for everything that is done online,” says Tiffany Gallicano, PhD, assistant professor of public relations at the University of Oregon. “Hiding relationships is shady, and the truth eventually emerges.”

The story serves as a cautionary tale to anyone who publicly recommends products or services: Before you publish, post, tweet or like, familiarize yourself with the rules of engagement.

The Truth About Testimonials

“The No. 1 topic that people talk about and share on social media channels is restaurants,” according to Paul Rand, immediate past president of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and founder and CEO of Zócalo Group, a Chicago-based marketing firm. “No. 2 is food. So, where and how people talk about food—and how people should share and talk about it through online channels—is really, really important.”

It’s so important, in fact, that the FTC decided in 2009 to revise its endorsements and testimonials guidelines to extend longstanding government recommendations about “truth in advertising” in traditional media like television, radio and print to digital and social media. As a result, registered dietitians who are compensated in exchange for reviewing or endorsing products online are now subject to the laws governing truthful advertising.

Joy R. Butler, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and author of The Cyber Citizen’s Guide Through the Legal Jungle: Internet Law for Your Professional Online Presence (Sashay Communications 2010), elaborates: “The FTC is particularly concerned by people who receive compensation for posting online reviews, recommendations and endorsements. The FTC reasons that the typical consumer might not realize the new media reviewer received compensation in exchange for the review. Since consumers are inclined to place more confidence in reviews written by completely independent people than in reviews written by people who have received compensation, the FTC wants the reviewer to disclose any compensation.”

According to the FTC, compensation can mean not only money, but coupons, samples, gifts and anything else of value. Failure to disclose compensation could result in hefty fines, and although the FTC has promised to pursue action only against advertisers, not endorsers, reviewers should take the government guidelines very seriously.

“Failure to adhere to the guidelines can prompt the FTC to review your online activity and initiate an action against you if it determines your failure to follow the guidelines has resulted in a business practice that deceives or misleads consumers,” Butler says.

“If an RD doesn’t disclose and it becomes discovered, they immediately lose credibility— and that can be incredibly damaging to the RD’s reputation,” Rand adds. “If, on the other hand, they clearly and accurately disclose, it actually may end up enhancing their reputations that they were thought of well enough by these brands to be a paid consultant for them.”

Posting Pros and Cons

RDs shouldn’t let FTC guidelines discourage them from being active online endorsers, according to Rand, who says ethical Internet marketing relationships offer RDs the opportunity to earn extra income, promote and learn about products they believe in, and even enhance their professional reputations.

Dallas-based nutrition communications consultant Neva Cochran, MS, RD, LD, who regularly posts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn on behalf of her corporate clients, says the opportunity to enhance her visibility as a science-based expert is a major draw. “I want to be honest and accurate, and someone who is seen as a reliable source of nutrition information,” Cochran says. “It’s an opportunity for me to get out positive messages about nutrition, and that’s what I do as an RD.”

But not everyone agrees. “The only reason there’s a special outreach to people in this position is exactly the reason [RDs] shouldn’t do it,” says Robert Weissman, managing director of Commercial Alert, a nonprofit organization whose mission is segregating commercialization from culture, education and government. “What’s a great idea for marketers is a terrible idea for health professionals. They’re being asked to trade in their trusted relationships for a commercial purpose. If you think a product is great and you’re touting it because you’ve come to that conclusion on your own, that’s one thing. But if you’re being compensated for doing it, I think that undermines and transgresses the relationship of trust with clients and patients.”

Digital Dos and Don’ts

Whether one engages in paid relationships with marketers is up to the individual. How one should engage, however, isn’t always clear. “It’s a moving target as far as what people consider appropriate and not appropriate, and what is a best practice,” says Cochran, whose clients have given her different—and sometimes conflicting—recommendations about social media disclosures.

The best way to ensure you’re complying with current federal guidelines and best practices is by making sure you work only with credible clients, keeping in mind that product publicity and marketing often are handled by public relations firms—and not all PR playbooks follow the rules.  “Being an educated and informed person in this area means you know what your [clients’] obligations are and can determine if they’re going to meet them,” explains Rand, who says the best way to evaluate a client’s credibility is to know the rules and ask appropriate questions to establish that your clients know them, too.

Remember: It’s a publicity firm’s job to promote a client’s brand; it’s your job to protect your brand. “It would be a good idea for experts to establish a personal pitch policy that outlines what they’re willing to review and the fact that offering compensation or free products does not guarantee a positive review,” Gallicano says. “This can help professionals keep their credibility intact.”

While the line between “ethical” and “questionable” isn’t always clear, RDs can avoid crossing it by keeping the following top of mind:

Transparency: Always say who you are—never blog or post anonymously—and where you got your information. “When giving reviews, RDs should consider providing information about what they are basing their opinions on,” Gallicano says. “If there are unknowns about a product’s safety or significant limitations of supporting studies, this information should be noted.”

Disclosure: FTC guidelines recommend disclosures in every relevant post, wherever you post it—and a single disclosure on your homepage or bio is not sufficient. “If your blog consists of [paid] reviews or if you receive complimentary products, include a brief disclosure sentence on each post as well as a more detailed disclosure on a separate web page,” says Butler. “In contrast, if you do paid endorsements only occasionally, it may be sufficient to provide a brief disclosure on the relevant post. On platforms where every character counts, the community often develops its own language. For example, on Twitter, #ad and #spon indicate the person has been paid to tweet.”

Integrity: “It’s not surprising that brand marketers want to recruit RDs to spread positive word of mouth online,” Gallicano says. “Brand marketers need to be told, however, that payment and free products or services do not guarantee a positive review. Your reputation is not for sale. The payment is for your time taken to review the product, not the outcome of the review.”

If ever in doubt, Cochran recommends consulting the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Code of Ethics, which states: The dietetics practitioner does not engage in false or misleading practices or communications. “Many Academy members think the Ethics Committee is primarily for reporting dietetics practitioners for unethical behavior,” says Cochran, who worked with the Committee to resolve a social media quandary. “I go to the Ethics Committee when I have ethical questions. That’s what they’re there for.”