This is a continuation from Lessons from Blogathon (Part 1)
The people of Blogathon are pretty savvy on social media. Everyone tweets all day about the things they’re learning (or funny things they’re overhearing) and making new online connections. This year there was a session just for social media or, more specifically, navigating social media at work & home. It was a really fun panel. There were a lot of laughs in this intimate setting as the panelists shared their fun and hilarious examples for best online practices.
This advice came from @evinschmevin and @ImtheQ – both bloggers and juggling home life with work responsibilities. So, how do you manage your online social media voice when you’re speaking on behalf of yourself and a more professional entity? Some of these points are pretty straight forward, others are some good food for thought.
- What do you do about the work vs. personal profile? - Both panelists agreed that it’s best to have only one personal account. If your company asks you (or you choose) to have a separate “professional” account (ex: @AmyAtACME) it can be a lot to manage and separate. Often, people will find it unauthentic and be able to find your personal account anyway.
- Tweeting on behalf of an entity as the company voice is different, just remember it’s a platform for your company, not your opinions.
- All tweets are your own - If your company activities are a big part of your life, consider putting a disclaimer on your profile that lets people know that all tweets are your own opinion and do not represent the opinions of your employer or the people you might otherwise be endorsing.
- It’s not illegal to have your own opinions. People have been fired in the past for tweeting and posting negatively about their company, but now the law is working more in favor of your free speech.
- REMEMBER, you cannot delete the internet. Once it’s out there, it’s out. You can delete a post, but it doesn’t mean that someone didn’t take a screenshot.
- “There are no rules” – Just use common sense and be a decent human being
- @ImtheQ likes to use the “LEGO” analogy – Alone, a LEGO block is kind of insignificant, it might be a cool color or shape, but what you really want to see is what will be built with those blocks. Similarly, with every post and tweet you’re building a voice, something people will want to come back and see.
- As you’ve probably heard a million times: BE AUTHENTIC
If you had reservations about how to manage your online voice, hopefully this helped you gain some insights. Follow @evinschmevin and @ImtheQ for more entertaining tweets.