Social media has many pros. It is a place where people connect, reconnect, share their lives and moments with the world, and express their voice. There is a place for social media. I know there are varying views on social media – it is fun, but it can be extremely hurtful (for example cyber bullying). But the uses and effects of social media on a personal level is a blog for another day. Today, however, I want to share a little about balancing our private profiles with our business profiles.
Social media for business is highly effective and is being used more and more – companies use it to advertise their services; engage with their clients; and create an interface that people want to engage with, and use. The lines are so easily blurred, especially when people’s business is a home business, or when their business is them. But is this professional? And is that what people, their followers, want?
I think there is a place for making your business seem personal – this is what people respond to; they respond to a business with a heart and with a real person on the other end of the adverts. But when does it become too familiar?
Your social media bios need to clearly distinguish whether it is a private or professional account. Your profile pictures for private and business accounts, for example, need to differ. This is important to distinguish for both as a reminder to yourself as well as to your followers. What you need to be aware of is that your business account cannot be a voice for your personal frustrations or grievances. However, you CAN use social media to make your business feel personal.
Using social media for business isn’t only about broadcasting news and updates, it’s about posting and engaging around topics that interest you and your followers. You can talk about your company culture and the employees that are contributing to your success, etc.
Getting personal can be a valuable thing when you’re engaging with followers, but you need to be careful not to clog your social feeds with personal notes and forget about posting your business vision and values.
There are lots of opinions we may be inclined to express on social media. Leave these for your personal profile. A key aspect in keeping balance between personal and business profile pages, is to realise that not every topic is right for every social network.
How do you balance your personal/private and business social media accounts?
