A lot of business people, and especially those who are self-employed, keep multiple social media identities – one for their personal lives, and one for their business or practice.
In theory, that can be a great idea. For one thing, it can stop personal messages (or even embarrassing photos and stories) from affecting your business. On the other hand, though, it can mean more time and work to manage multiple profiles, and even limit your social media marketing, if a lot of your contacts are both personal and professional.
To help you decide whether you need multiple social identities, here are a few tips to follow:
Read the guidelines. Some social sites prohibit multiple accounts by the same individual. Read the guidelines and agreements carefully to make sure you aren’t breaking any important rules or laws.
Think of your objectives and marketing style. If you aren’t going to be spending much time on social networking sites anyway, why keep multiple accounts? On the other hand, if it’s a core piece of your marketing strategy, then it might make sense to keep your presences separate.
Evaluate your network. How many contacts do you already have, personally and professionally? How many would you like to have? If either number is small, it might not warrant its own profile.
Keep the right tone. Whether you’re being a friend, a vendor, or even advisor, it’s important to strike the right tone. Otherwise, your contacts might have a hard time connecting with you, or taking you seriously.
We can’t tell you whether you need multiple social profiles or not, but by following these tips, you should be able to make the right decision and manage them effectively. Or, to get more in-depth marketing help, contact a member of the Marcy Design team today.
Call Marcy Design, a Columbus Ohio website design company to help with your web, marketing and advertising campaigns.