Everyone’s an influencer. The consumer is out for himself (not for you). Optimize content. It’s an organism, not a process. Think past vanity metrics (like followers). Update your Facebook Page… or delete it.

Good advice, right? As much as it frustrates marketers, the business of social media is as much an art as it is a science, but there are some tried and tested rules and guidelines that just work. And brands, new and old, need to pay attention.

Fast Company asked some of social media’s savviest users about their best practices, many of which were delivered in bite-sized, tweetable chunks. The finest suggestions have been documented in this infographic, which is a useful, one-stop, printable guide to best practices for brands using social media.

What do you think of these tips? Do you have any rules of your own? Hit the comments to let us know.

(Source: Fast Company. Speech bubbles image via Shutterstock.)