Social media is a huge part of our society, whether we like it or not. Even if you choose to have zero personal participation in social media, you really have no choice but to have a presence for your small business. Because so much of the population relies heavily on social media for news, advertisements, reviews, and peers’ opinions, it would be hard for a small business to survive without taking advantage of the opportunities these channels present.

Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it), you need to not only have a business presence on social media, but also show who you are. This doesn’t mean having a personal account if you don’t want one (though you do need a profile on Facebook in order to have a business page). This means showing your personal side through your business profiles.

For private people or those who just don’t like social media, the idea of showing your personal life to your clients, customers and followers can feel invasive and jarring. So how do you reach a happy medium between sharing just enough that your followers feel a connection with you without making you feel compromised?

Being “personal” on social media doesn’t have to mean oversharing. In fact, that’s highly inadvisable. It means showing your personality and interests. It means telling people you are, in fact, a human being with thoughts, feelings and emotions. It’s showing your followers, clients and customers that you are a real person, not a business bot.

So how does that translate into content? Here are some examples: Do you like baking? Show off some of your latest creations. Interested in fashion? Share some of your favorite looks. Not every post has to be about your business or field and, really, they shouldn’t be.

Opinions on politics and societal issues are tough. Best practices might say you should avoid posting anything that could be seen as controversial. And it’s true that posts that can be divisive carry the potential consequence of lost followers and/or customers. But:

• If you feel passionately about something AND
• You want people to know that your brand stands for that AND
• You’ve taken into consideration the potential negative results and are capable of withstanding them

Then go for it.  

People want to know who’s on the other end of the screen. They want to know that they’re interacting with a real person. Be you. At the end of the day, you will be able to look in the mirror and know you stood up for what you believed in, you didn’t compromise your morals, and were unapologetically you. And that’s something to be proud of.

Need help figuring out how to be “you” on social media? Give us a shout.