Potential customers can easily tap into your personal life with a simple click, so it’s important to represent your company 24/7. For everyone in this digital age, your personal social media profiles are impressions of your business. This means less late-night selfies and more professional posts. What is your social media presence saying about your company? Here are a few possibilities:
It’s educational with a hint personality.
Keeping customers informed and educated should play a key part in your social media strategy. With that being said, your personal social media outlets are a great way to start a conversation, because you never know who’s watching. Twitter is the perfect outlet to share industry articles, the latest technology finds or your own daily apple-a-day-keeps-the-doctor-away advice. This type of social media approach will make you look professional and passionate about what you do, and will gain you a niche following.
It’s friendly, but professional.
Posting pieces of daily life is what makes social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram so fun, but it’s important to set boundaries for yourself and other key players in your company. From the type of photos you post and the articles you share to religious and political messages, know what aligns with your company and use your profiles to gain trust and enhance your business.
It’s set to private if you have strong opinions.
Luckily for us, freedom of speech is in the Constitution. If you regularly post statuses or photos that could be considered controversial and you have no intention of stopping, at least make sure your profile settings are set so that potential customers (or even current clients) can’t see your page if they go searching. That way, you can keep the reputation of your company intact while still feeling free to post what you’d like.
It’s always looking to grow and improve.
Platforms like LinkedIn and Sermo are just a couple ways you can use your personal presence to grow your network. When customers see these sorts of professional profiles, it communicates that you care about your business and that you’re always looking to expand your knowledge of the industry. Making this online effort to improve yourself and your business will not only grow your professional network, but will also lead to a successful company.
In a time when almost everyone’s lives—both personal and professional—are online, you have to find a way to bridge that gap and make sure you not only give thoughtful, personal attention to your customers, but also make sure your personal social media presence is responsible and professional. And if you can’t manage to clean up your personal profiles, ensure that they’re set to private so that you don’t end up unintentionally harming your business.