Recently I saw a Facebook post on a community social media site written, then commented on, by two people from a local business which I use personally. It was a complaint about public bad behaviour…. one I would consider fairly valid. They did not comment on their impressive business page, but from their personal profiles, so perhaps one would think this is ok?

So this comment raises some questions….. when is it acceptable to publicly step away from our professional image? Is it acceptable to use profanity or attack people from your personal or business social media site? Would you feel differently, about a business owner you use services from, if they publicly insulted someone? We saw a lot of this throughout Covid, even from professional pages. Would their personal opinion about any subject that you may not agree with, change the way you do business with them? And, where do we draw the line between sharing business and personal life in a place our clients can see it? 

Celebrities do it… even Donald Trump did it, but does that make sharing your personal, religious, social or political opinions on your business page, or indeed on a community page ok?  Is publicly calling someone a profanity acceptable?  Is letting people out there – your clients, your potential clients or even just your social media followers, know that you are only human ok, or is it unprofessional?

We want our current and potential clients to know we’re good at what we do.  Excellent in fact. We want to show we are leaders amongst our peers and are professional and trustworthy. We most definitely want their custom. So after seeing this post with one of these business owners calling someone a vulgar name, does this change my opinion of them?

Far be it for me to judge anyone on their language or behaviour or even photos they post on personal social media pages…  but, I would be concerned that they didn’t use their judgement in a public space. If I had wanted to get an insight into their personal opinions, I would have followed them personal page if public. And don’t forget, it’s very easy to find someone on social media… be very very careful about what image of you is portrayed.

Touchy subjects come up in the media and indeed life. For example, we can see how much the gay marriage subject evoked enormous emotion, and in some instances opinions were posted on large organisations social media. In this case, 38.4% – 4,873,987 people of Australians have not agreed with the majority. While posting support for gay marriage, have the company taken into account the possibility of different public opinion when making a public standpoint? Could this potentially damage client relations? Are they are speaking on behalf of their whole organisation? The thing is, no one thinks the same. No one has exactly the same opinion. Will posting your opinion on your business social media pages alienate not only your followers but your own staff who voted against the opinion of these large organisations?  

First impression sticks. In business, you only get one chance at a first impression. This brings me to another point – your profile images. Your photo is everything … how it looks will stand for who you are, and what you represent, with the aim of attracting your perfect client. While I recommend a professionally taken portrait, an action shot is great … assuming it is appropriate for your trade. Entertainer, musician, plumber, public speaker, shop owner ….. whatever you do, doing what you do best – all great. Your logo is an acceptable alternative to your photo. Make sure what ever your image, it matches your business, ensuring your clients understand what you offer.

My advice to you is this. Keep it clean. Have your personal social media pages. We’re all human, have family and friends and a life outside of our business. Lock it up. That’s right. Lock your social media up good and tight if you intend to state your opinion, swear, post personal photos of stuff we may find funny but not necessarily congruent with your business persona. Think twice before you post and share and perhaps share only with your closest friends because your clientele may not share your sense of humour or your opinions.

So put your best foot forward…. Show your tribe how truly amazing you are, sticking to the brand you’ve created and keep on attracting your perfect client. 

You know your own business better than anyone and your time is best spent running it. I know social media, so allow me to help you so that you can spend your time inside your business doing what you do best. Fill out this information form and send it to me for a free appraisal of your social media pages. I’d be delighted to show you how I can transform your social media and how you can be seen in this digital marketplace. At the very least, allow me to give you a few tips on how you can improve your pages. Let’s get started!!