Is YOUR social media profile making you look cheap? Elegance coach reveals the 10 faux pas – from posting ‘thirst traps’ to sharing inspirational quotes

• Anna Bey is an elegance and etiquette expert based in London and Geneva 
• The elegance coach uses her YouTube channel to give people etiquette advice 
• In a new video Anna has revealed what people should not do on social media

An elegance expert has revealed the 10 social media pitfalls to avoid if you don’t want to cheapen your online presence. 

Anna Bey, who is based between London and Geneva, posted a video on her YouTube channel warning that ‘mistakes can cost you opportunities and sabotage your future.’ 

The expert shared the mistakes that she has made in the past to stop others from doing the same.

She said things such as sharing pictures of yourself drinking, posting inspirational or passive aggressive quotes or over sharing on a bad day are all things that will tarnish and remain on your online profile. 

She also explained the difference between ‘provocative or sexy pictures or videos,’ suggesting very revealing ‘thirst trap’ images, ones which are posted with the intent to entice viewers, should be avoided.

Here, FEMAIL looks at Anna’s top tips for having a classy and well put together social media profile…

Anna Bey is an elegance and etiquette expert based in London and Geneva. The elegance coach uses her YouTube channel to give people etiquette advice

1. Don’t post provocative pictures

According to Anna there is a difference between a sexy photo and one that is provocative (stock photo) 

According to Anna there is a difference between a sexy photo and one that is provocative, explaining: ‘We have two types of provocative pictures online. 

‘We have the obvious sexy pictures, and then we have the silent, non obvious sexy pictures.’  

She showed a snap of women playing basketball in bikini’s and labelled this a ‘typical, not obvious, but sexy picture,’ as the girls are playing ball but ‘we all know what we’re looking at.’ 

She then displayed a gallery of women posing in their underwear on beds as an example of ‘obvious, sexy, and provocative picture.’

The expert pointed out that these images will stay on the internet forever and so said it’s important to not be overly provocative when trying to capture a cute, sexy image. 

2. Don’t overshare your love life or partner online

Anna said don’t be posting every day or every week bragging about your relationship, as it can be ‘nauseating’ (stock photo)

Anna said that she doesn’t understand why some couples feel the need to be very active on social media, ‘all the time posting intimate pictures or videos or stories from the relationship.’ 

Listing pictures from kissing and hugging, to touching intimate body parts and being half naked in bed, she insisted that ‘you should not be oversharing about your personal relationship online.’ 

Having a ‘husband appreciation post’ or the like, once in a while for Valentine’s Day or similar is a refined and balanced way to show how much you love your partner online, according to Anna.

But she insisted, don’t be posting every day or every week bragging about your relationship, as it can be ‘nauseating.’  

3. Don’t post passive aggressive quotes

The elegance expert used the example of women posting aspirational quotes clearly directed at men as a sign of immaturity on social media (stock photo)

Posting passive aggressive quotes on social media, in the hope that the person you’re annoyed with will see it, is one of Anna’s pet peeves. 

She commented that it is ‘so ridiculous’ for people on Instagram and Twitter to post random passive aggressive quotes that are clearly directed towards someone.  

4. Don’t post pictures with cigarettes or alcohol

If you want to appear more elegant then never allow yourself to be photographed with cigarettes or alcohol in the picture, said the expert. 

Anna said that you don’t want to be photographed grabbing bottles or seen holding cigarettes and you definitely don’t want pictures of yourself out partying.   

‘That is kind of the time where you want to be a little bit more discreet,’ she commented.

She explained that you should try to hide your drink even when there is a official photographer at a party, because ‘that picture is most likely gonna be online forever.’  

Anna said: ‘You don’t really want to be advertising your bad habits.’ 

But recognised that there are situations that are an exception such as an Instagram story doing a cheers with a champagne glass with your girlfriends. 

She said: ‘There is always a deeper message behind whatever is said in the quote. It’s not posted there just for no reason.’

Labelling this behaviour as ‘immature,’ she advised talking through problems behind closed doors rather than sending out ‘these hidden messages.’   

The elegance expert used the example of women posting something along the lines of: ‘Don’t let him have the satisfaction of knowing you’ll always be there waiting.’ 

He won’t care, even if he sees it and so if you want to look classy and put together this immature behaviour is not something that you should be doing, said the expert.

5. Don’t go online when you’ve had too many drinks

According to Anna you should never go online when you are drunk or ‘even when you’re tipsy.’  

Many of us get a ‘drunken voice,’ she explained, even if you’ve only had two glasses of wine ‘we can hear it because the voice has changed.’ 

It is the same for speech as it becomes slower when you are a little bit intoxicated and you may start slurring. 

Anna said: ‘Recording yourself on stories saying things that you think are funny, but they’re not really that funny, and then you’re there slurry. Now that definitely cheapens a social media presence.’  

6. Don’t brag about yourself online 

Anna asked: ‘What is it with people that want to brag online?’ Answering her own question, she concluded that ‘it boils down to pure insecurity.’ 

Bragging is something that is quite common now on social media as people compete for who has the most of something or who is doing the coolest thing.

‘They are really trying hard to make the viewer understand that they have a lot,’ the expert commented. 

She said that in her experience people who have a lot are not going out promoting it and tend to be more discreet. 

If you want to appear more elegant then never allow yourself to be photographed with cigarettes or alcohol in the picture, says Anne (stock photo)

7. Don’t be a drama queen 

According to the elegance expert drama queens exist on social media in high quantities, describing it as: ‘Their secret little hub because that’s where they get all the attention.’   

10. Don’t use ‘cheap influencer’ tactics 

Finally, Anna addressed women trying to become influencers and advised them against ‘cheap influencer tactics that some people do.’ 

As an example, she said: ‘Participating in these strange obscure giveaways are kind of like a little bit low-level giveaways that definitely does cheapen a person or their brand so much.’

Anna explained that this type of person may leave a cryptic post and then disappear to make people wonder ‘what is now going on? what happened? has something happened?’

Anna said that having some drama in your life is normal and expected but advised people against making a habit of it. 

8. Don’t post when you’re in a bad mood 

Anna said that she doesn’t mind being vulnerable online or personal and does show some parts of her intimate life. 

‘However,’ she said, ‘I have a rule that if I’m overly negative or I have a really bad day, I don’t go online.

‘I keep it for myself because why would I share all this negativity with other people and ruin their day?’ 

Sometimes you have to share negative news or maybe want to share some inner thoughts, but she emphasised ‘it’s about how much of that you do.’

9. Don’t post content in low light 

‘So one thing that I’m very careful with on social media because of the aesthetic that is light,’ said Anna.

The elegance expert explained that it is difficult to get good pictures at night as they often come out pixelated or blurry, or in weird colours and are quite often unflattering.  

She advised taking all of your pictures during the daytime, when you have bright colours coming out. This will apparently give you a much more flattering social media feed.

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