In the world of social media best practices, there are always a plethora of articles on what practictioners shouldn’t do. This therefore assumes that somehow those who participate in the social graph for business reasons know what they should do, and that isn’t always the case.

We all know that spamming is borderline illegal in social media. People also hate to be sent requests to play games like Candy Crush. It’s also known that posting 200 times per day on your Twitter and 20 times on Facebook is also a little bit too much. In the middle of all this content clutter however, it’s important to consider the question: What exactly should you do?

This is our top ten:

1. Build relationships: Social media is a relationship-centric activity and in the world of marketing, at the top of the lead generation funnel. The currency of social media is relationships, and therefore your modus operandi should be to create as many relevant relationships as you can. From engaging in conversations to sharing the content of others, facilitating the process of relationship building leads to greater return on investment, which is anything from a new client to a new friend.

2. Share: Sharing is caring. Sharing means that you believe that other people have great things to share in addition to you. The more content is shared the more people will also see said content. Of course, don’t over share.

3. Have a plan: Tweeting to just tweet and creating videos without direction will land on deaf ears. Having a social media plan is important because it outlines what you will deem successful, and what you will deem a failure. In the content age, planning ahead means that you need to figure out what you are posting several days ahead and having that set in the back of your mind.

4. Measure your presence: In what’s becoming a more common trend, social media analytics is becoming bigger and bigger. Measuring your social media presence is as key as ever to knowing how successful you are. Don’t forget to do this!

5. Focus: Being on 40 social networks at once is definitely tempting, but it’s also important to focus and be keen on what you are doing. Posting cat photos if you are a B2B brand is good once in awhile so long as it is relevant, but everyday may be driving your audience batty.

6. Listen: As social media is a conversation, it’s doubly important to listen. Even though we don’t physically say anything online, we were still granted two eyes, two ears, and one mouth for the reason of listening more than talking. Listen to what your customers want and see what they like, and aim to please.

7. Use tools. But don’t be one: There are thousands of tools on social media that one can use to become the best at their craft. The important point here is to choose wisely and know when to spend money and when it’s perfectly okay not to. Just as you wouldn’t dig a hole with your hands when you have a shovel readily available, you shouldn’t do your social media without the requisite tools when there are some — even free, that clearly exist. Take advantage of what is out there!

8. Build your personal brand: Social media managers should be aware that as much as they are helping other brands amplify their voice, they should also spend time creating theirs as well. Your personal brand takes you far in social media, and so it is therefore important to create yours while you create others. A personal brand can mean everything from the next job to the next solid friendship.

9. Integrate your skills: The changing of the Facebook algorithm paired up with the inevitable collision of marketing and information technology means that marketers and social media professionals should spend their time learning new skills as much as they can, when they can. From programming to email marketing, lead generation to analytics, the integrated marketer is the future of this industry.

10. Log off: Constant socialization means that you are going to get tired, and if you are the type that needs some time to think about your next move, log off. Get some fresh air and go spend time in nature. Logging off allows for reflection, which is seriously important when it comes to your social media and marketing strategy.

What are some tips you have? Share them with us in the comments below.