Despite the Buzz, social media isn’t for everyone. “It doesn’t disguise who you are; it magnifies who you are on a massive scale,” says John Heaney, brand director of Sparkbase, a Cleveland-based gift and loyalty program servicing company. “You can really damage your reputation [by misusing social media].” If you recognize yourself here, put your hands up and step away from your computer.

The bad actors. “If you behave badly and aren’t customer-focused, you should not be active in social media,” says Heaney.

The 24/7 salesman. Social media interaction is like a Super Bowl party, says author and web consultant Jim Kukral. “You wouldn’t walk around saying, ‘Buy my book,’ ” he says.

The socially unresponsive. Heaney points to United Airlines as a well-known example. “There are enormous numbers of complaints, and they go unanswered,” he says. “If you have no intention of dealing with problems, then you shouldn’t be there.”

The casual user. “The worst thing you could do is [sign up for] Twitter, get people following you and then post three times,” says Andy Halko, CEO of Insivia.

The me-tooers. “Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean you have to,” says Kelly McGlumphy, account supervisor at Roop & Co. “If the audience you’re trying to reach is not on social media, you don’t need to be there.”

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