People buy from people. But it’s not always that easy, is it? As we hover the Post Now button on a personal post we often ask ourselves “Who cares?”. It can be hard to find the right balance between being the face of our brand, not oversharing and allowing our audience to feel like they really know us.
Share what’s important to you
According to the Pratfall Effect, competent people are more likeable when they make mistakes. If we hide from our mistakes, people assume we’ve got something to hide and they’ll have a harder time trusting us. But being human isn’t just about making mistakes, it’s about having hobbies, being passionate about stuff and appreciating beauty in the little things.
I have a Venus Fly Trap. Is it even remotely related to my business? No. Do I still like to talk about it from time to time? Yes, because I wanted one for years but didn’t think I’d be able to keep it alive – but nine months in and it’s still going strong! Do people care? Probably not, but they probably do care that I get excited about something so “small”. Imagine how excited I get about helping you reach your social media goals!
If it makes you uncomfortable, don’t share it
People often ask me “Do I have to post about this?” – No! No, you don’t!
You are in control of your accounts and you choose what gets posted. I know I’m always sharing tips and recommendations of what you could do with your social media, but if an idea doesn’t sit right with you, please do ignore me!
If you’re going through a hard time or your journey to get to where you are today is quite dark, your audience is not entitled to hear your story. If something amazing happens to you, your audience doesn’t have to be the first to hear about it. If you want something to stay private, that’s your choice.
And on a similar note, if it makes someone else uncomfortable, don’t share it!
Use different spaces
One of the benefits of there being so many social media platforms to choose from is that we can use them in slightly different ways. The main platforms for my business are Facebook, LinkedIn and Threads. LinkedIn is my businessy platform and although I do share some personal posts, you’re unlikely to see posts about my Venus Fly Trap. Threads is my “Get to know me” platform and it’s where I’ll share most of the behind-the-scenes content, how I’m feeling, and Venus Fly Trap updates. Facebook is my middle ground: my posts tend to be quite businessy but my stories are a lot more random!
Multiple Personal Profiles on Facebook
Have you seen Facebook’s new update? It used to be that we’d have a Personal Profile, set up a Business Page and then go networking and our Personal Profile would become a lot less personal – but not anymore! You can now have multiple Personal Profiles and easily switch between them. This means you can have a Personal Profile where you connect with all your friends and family, and then switch to a second “Personal Profile” to connect with your networking buddies.
Thanks for reading! I share a blog like this one every other Tuesday, and if you feel like they help your social media presence, and more importantly, your business – then please consider leaving a tip.
Tesni xx
