Personal vs. Professional Accounts: Managing Your Online Presence
Understand the difference between personal and professional social media accounts and how a proper social media strategy can change it all.
Photo by Microsoft Edge on Unsplash
Many people use social media for their businesses (‘many’ as in almost absolutely everyone) but only a few take the time to create and follow a social media strategy to ensure goals are being achieved and results are being measured.
In this post, we’ll talk about the differences between personal and professional social media accounts and why you should approach them with different plans of action.
What’s The Difference Between A Personal And Professional Social Media Account?
If you run a business, you probably have a specific profile on social media dedicated to promoting your products/services, engaging with potential customers, running your ads, and similar. On the flip side, you might have your personal account where you see what your friends are posting, watch cute cat videos, and post your highly aesthetic avocado toast.
The difference here is clear: one account is strictly for business, and the other one is for leisure. Many things play a key role when it comes to managing your personal and professional social media accounts, such as:
Your goals. Your business account should have specific short-term and long-term goals that align with your brand’s essence, and needs. To achieve this, you must have a detailed social media strategy.
Your strategy. Having a social media strategy for your business account is essential to ensure you’re taking the necessary steps to achieve your goals. With your personal account, you might not be bothered to create one because you use that account to relax and catch up with friends.
Your posting frequency. Finally, the number of times you post weekly on one account or the other is very different. With your personal social media profiles, you don’t need to follow a specific posting schedule to enhance your online presence; whereas for your business account, it is a non-negotiable.
Your business social media strategy will also dictate the style and tone you’ll use as well as the audience you should be directing your posts to.
Shifting From A Personal To A Professional Social Media Account
If you’ve been managing your professional social media account the same way you manage your personal one, it is time to make some changes.
Begin by analyzing which platforms your business should be in. For example, if you have an online business that sells vegan makeup products, having a LinkedIn account to promote that might not be the best option. Instead, try using TikTok and Instagram to share insights about how your products are made, get-ready-with-me videos, and more.
You’ll also need to come up with a powerful social media strategy that focuses on brand recognition and sales conversion. Spend time thinking about your brand’s essence, who your target audience is (what they do, how much money they spend, places they visit, etc), and the type of content that your audience loves but that is also useful to you.
Once you start posting on your professional account following a strategy, you’ll see results you might not have been able to get if you were still posting like in your personal account.
Keywords: social media accounts personal and professional social media accounts social media strategy