It’s no secret that social media is taking over our lives, both personally and professionally. As the newer, faster and more creative way to communicate, it’s not only a platform to connect with new, old and existing friends, but it’s also a powerful tool to promote your business and engage with customers. In fact, according to Facebook research, it has more than 1.4 billion daily active personal users, and more than 50 million business pages.
But if you’re a business owner or relevant leader looking to enjoy the personal aspects of social media while also marketing your company effectively, how do you know when to separate the two? What is OK to post on your personal page but not to your business page, and vice versa?
On Your Personal Page
Your personal social media profiles are predominantly meant to be used to connect with your personal network — friends, family, social acquaintances, etc. Therefore, the content you share should be relevant to this audience. This is the profile you can use to share photos of your kids, social outings on weekends, traveling trips and any subjective content that would be considered unprofessional on a business page, such as opinions on politics and religion.
Be sure to not post constant business updates, as you may annoy your personal network and that could have an impact on the reputation of your company. A good little tip for your personal profiles is to also make sure that they are always on a ‘Private’ setting so that professionals outside of your personal network are not able to access that content.
On Your Professional Page
The sole focus for your professional profile should be to effectively market your company, raise brand awareness and generate traffic. Post brand related information such as company updates, promotions and interesting industry-related topics. Research your specific audience and find out what topics they like, don’t like and other pages they are engaging with, so you can share content related to these subjects. Don’t always post advertising material; instead, try and engage with your consumers on a personal level but still related to business. For example, knowing that their customers are interested in being business owners and not wanting the typical 9-5 job, Amway posts inspirational posts about being your own boss, with captions like ‘What gets you motivated?’. As such, the global direct selling company effectively engages followers on a deeper level while still making it relevant to their brand.
When Worlds Collide
While many people value the importance of keeping their personal and professional life separate, in certain circumstances it’s OK to let them intersect. For example, if you are your business — you’re a personal trainer, business coach, etc. — then it’s not only acceptable but highly encouraged, marketing manager Aubrey Blankenship tells LinkedIn. Other examples of when you can let the two pages cross over include posting on your personal page to invite your personal network to like or follow your business page or inviting them to a company event. If you find a business-related article that you think could also apply to your friends and family, then this may also be appropriate, but it should be considered on a case-by-case basis. But be careful. Often times, posting personal content to your business page isn’t a good idea unless it has something to do with your employees.
Social media is becoming an increasingly common and even vital tool to keep up with both your personal and professional life. While enjoying the benefits of each platform to your specific networks, be sure you know the right content to post to each to ensure maximum effectiveness.
