The line between personal and professional in social media

Where is the line between your personal and professional reputation? In the world of social media, it is often blurred, if it exists at all. [highlight color=”yellow”]This is especially important to remember when entrusting an employee to speak on behalf of your brand, as there tends to be very little difference between your brand itself and the people who are managing it.[/highlight]

Because of this, it is imperative that you work just as hard to maintain your personal reputation as you do for the reputation of your brand. Being mindful of what you post to social media profiles, no matter if they are business or personal, is a great way to help ensure the safety of your brand’s rep. An (embarrassing) example of this happened to me just this week. Somehow, when posting a Tweet, I managed to tweet from the Trackur account instead of my own:

Nothing horribly offensive or rude, but certainly would strike a reader as odd.  Especially since many of our followers know that our CEO, Andy Beal often tweets from the account.  Now, him having a girls’ night in?  That might be a bit more eyebrow-raising.  Fortunately, I have a fairly tame existence, so the content of my Tweets tends to be industry related or pretty fluffy.  Other brands have not always been so lucky.  Time and time again, we’ve seen big brands in the news because a rogue (or distracted) employee spouted off from the corporate account instead of their own.

A good social media rule of thumb: [highlight color=”yellow”]If you don’t want something to be associated with your brand, don’t say it.  Ever.[/highlight]  Much like your personal behavior, what happens when out and about socially (whether that be in real life or online) can get back to you at work.  Whether you make a silly comment or go on a potentially reputation-destroying tirade, mix-ups can happen.  Which would you rather have your brand associated with?