Pamela Eyring, the President and Director of The Protocol School of Washington, believes that it is necessary for professional purposes. As she explains, social media can be very effective for consumers and businesses, but one wrong move can cause a very harmful impact.

She advises users to consider how their actions on social sites reflect on their own brand or image. By taking this into consideration before a user posts, he has a better chance of avoiding pitfalls.

Some cases are harmless, but there are other situations that could have a lasting impact on individuals. WebProNews spoke with Wayne Sutton of OurHashtag who gave some tips for preventing social media from coming back to haunt you.

Social media etiquette is still a gray area online. Some people act differently online than they do offline and vice versa. Sutton said that he personally tries to be the same person online that he is offline.

He went on to say that individuals should establish a presence online that adequately represents them offline as well. It is also important to remember that even a simple tweet could hurt yourself, your brand, and potentially, others.

Sutton offers this simple, but wise advice: “Think about what you’re posting before you post it.”