How much should you reveal about yourself when it comes to Social Media for “business?”
“Now, that I have this Facebook page, how much do I say about myself?” “Do I only talk about business?” “Why does anybody care that I’m ‘Headed to the gym’ or ‘taking the kids to Sunday school?’”Public relations professionals are fielding some version of those questions every day. Clients want to know if they should put themselves out there. Some want permission to do it, others are reluctant to reveal too much of their personal lives. I honestly think some people are afraid that they will be construed as boring –or at the very least that the message is.
They want to know how on earth it matters that posting their status as, “on the way to a softball game,” can make any difference in the bottom line. It can.
My advice to the “how much” question lately is, “As much as you can possibly feel comfortable with.” That goes for pictures, tweets, videos, “what’s on your mind,” and anything else.
Ok, so you don’t want the world to know you are going to the jail to pick up your brother. It’s probably best to keep that to yourself. (Especially for your brother’s sake.)
But if you are headed to a conference with industry leaders in Washington, D.C. – isn’t it great if your clients or potential clients can know that?
Granted, that’s not exactly putting yourself out there. But think about the factors that go into a decision to hire someone or do business with them. You interview prospective employees and put them through a battery of questions designed to show not just their qualifications – but who they are.
Before you hire an ad agency or make a deal with a new vendor you research them, call references — maybe do a conference call. You want to know exactly who you are dealing with.
So it’s no great leap of faith that if you are friends with someone on Facebook, who posts family vacation pictures at the beach, a hiking shot from the Appalachian Trail, and updates their status as, “waiting in line for Springsteen tickets,” along with a link to an article about their company from the Sunday paper that you feel like you “know” that person. It’s at least a start.
“When you are working with a lot of young savvy creative professionals, who are naturally animated on line, they are going to build their own personal brands whether you wanted them to or not. So for the most part, we embrace that,” said Todd Defren of the San Francisco based PR firm, Shift Communications, in a recent interview with PR Week’s Aarti Shah.
He also cautioned, ”the important thing for those people to know as their personal brand gets created is to know that build that brand is that the client comes first, the team comes first the agency comes first, because ultimately we all need to pay our mortgages…”
I agree with him. Just as college kids are cautioned not to go haywire posting party pictures that will haunt them when they apply for jobs a few years down the road, business people should exercise some restraint, but not be afraid to show the world a bit of a personal cross section.
Facebook especially should be seen as a totality of you — at least the public you. Keep your private stuff private, but don’t be afraid to tell the world who you are. They’ll probably like you better and trust you more.
Ok, so you want to blog, you want to use social media to the benefit of your company. Maybe you’re the president or the vice-president and you want your company out there on Twitter, Facebook etc, but you want someone down the line to actually do this. I get it. This stuff takes time and who has enough of that? How do you determine who says what about your company and how do you appear not to be self-serving?
I’ve run into some of this myself. Some of the most interesting stuff that comes across this desk is from clients. Hey – That’s a blog topic. (See the recent post about Gentry Locke’s Faith & Law seminar) Sure I want the world to know about it because it benefits my client. But it’s also just plain interesting and — dare I say — newsworthy. In fact we know the media is reading blogs looking for new material. A case can be made that blogs and other social media posts are beginning to rival the traditional news release when it comes to gaining media attention.
Is it wrong to kill two birds with one stone by examining a great topic if it also helps the client? I say not.
Here at Access we represent many different non-profits. Their good deeds deserve ample mention. We push for the media to cover these topics, why not “cover” them ourselves. The same goes for the high tech and higher education and you-name-the-category the clients we have.
So what’s the proper approach? PR-Squared hit the nail on the head with its release of, “10 rules for Corporate Social Media.”
The recurring theme? Be polite, be direct and be transparent.
If you have a vested interest in the topic, then say so. If you disagree with a claim from a critic or competitor, then argue your point but resist name-calling. The readers will decide who has the valid point.
Herewith PR-Squared’s list: Take a look and consider these for your company.
TOP 10 GUIDELINES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PARTICIPATION AT (COMPANY)
These guidelines apply to (COMPANY) employees or contractors who create or contribute to blogs, wikis, social networks, virtual worlds, or any other kind of Social Media. Whether you log into Twitter, Yelp, Wikipedia, MySpace or Facebook pages, or comment on online media stories — these guidelines are for you.
While all (COMPANY) employees are welcome to participate in Social Media, we expect everyone who participates in online commentary to understand and to follow these simple but important guidelines. These rules might sound strict and contain a bit of legal-sounding jargon but please keep in mind that our overall goal is simple: to participate online in a respectful, relevant way that protects our reputation and of course follows the letter and spirit of the law.
1. Be transparent and state that you work at (COMPANY). Your honesty will be noted in the Social Media environment. If you are writing about (COMPANY) or a competitor, use your real name, identify that you work for (COMPANY), and be clear about your role. If you have a vested interest in what you are discussing, be the first to say so.
2. Never represent yourself or (COMPANY) in a false or misleading way. All statements must be true and not misleading; all claims must be substantiated.
3. Post meaningful, respectful comments — in other words, please, no spam and no remarks that are off-topic or offensive.
4. Use common sense and common courtesy: for example, it’s best to ask permission to publish or report on conversations that are meant to be private or internal to (COMPANY). Make sure your efforts to be transparent don’t violate (COMPANY)’s privacy, confidentiality, and legal guidelines for external commercial speech.
5. Stick to your area of expertise and do feel free to provide unique, individual perspectives on non-confidential activities at (COMPANY).
6. When disagreeing with others’ opinions, keep it appropriate and polite. If you find yourself in a situation online that looks as if it’s becoming antagonistic, do not get overly defensive and do not disengage from the conversation abruptly: feel free to ask the PR Director for advice and/or to disengage from the dialogue in a polite manner that reflects well on (COMPANY).
7. If you want to write about the competition, make sure you behave diplomatically, have the facts straight and that you have the appropriate permissions.
8. Please never comment on anything related to legal matters, litigation, or any parties (COMPANY) may be in litigation with.
9. Never participate in Social Media when the topic being discussed may be considered a crisis situation. Even anonymous comments may be traced back to your or (COMPANY)’s IP address. Refer all Social Media activity around crisis topics to PR and/or Legal Affairs Director.
10. Be smart about protecting yourself, your privacy, and (COMPANY)’s confidential information. What you publish is widely accessible and will be around for a long time, so consider the content carefully. Google has a long memory.
NOTE: Mainstream media inquiries must be referred to the Director of Public Relations.
