Should A Business Post Personal Content

 

There are two camps of thought on this topic.  Those that believe a business is a business so therefore should not be personal and there are those that believe a business is an extension of people so therefore should be personal.  I myself is not of either camp, rather I believe in a merger of the two camps of thoughts.

I believe a brand is an extension of people, not one person, which causes a business to form it’s own personality.  Our individual personalities come together when in a group setting to form a group personality, it simply is a blend of all the individual personalities.  This gives a business it’s own voice, it’s own personality.  However, that does not make it a person, but many have said we must humanize our brands. 

I believe we do that by posting three types of content as a business profile.  Whether it’s a Facebook Page, Twitter account, Instagram account, Google+ Page, Pinterest, Linked Page or any other social network your business has a presence in.  This content will set your business apart and humanize your brand.

1.  Industry news with a twist.

You must first find industry news in some way, whether it’s through an RSS feed, saving websites as favorites or reading the news paper.  Once you find an article, or blog post, worth sharing you may not agree with it 100%.  That is where the twist comes in.  You simply share the nugget and add your own thoughts into it.  Now you are sharing industry news with your twist.

2.  History, accolades or milestones.

Listing your milestones on Facebook, blogging about your history and sharing your company and employee accolades make your brand appear to be more human than not.  It is another way to story tell, to connect your audience with who your business is.

If you look at Coca-a-Cola’s Facebook Page you will see really cool milestones, including images.  This really makes them interesting and really helped give them some traction with the audience.  Take advantage of historical dates and memorable moments for your company.  Don’t e afraid to talk about the achievements, awards and accolades.

3.  Employee recognition.

Your employees make your brand more human than any content ever could, so talk about them.  Many companies I talk to are afraid to do that because they don’t want any backlash if that employee ends up in the news paper.  I have always said, do not let fear stop you.  If fear is what holds you back then that is a poor excuse.  However, I would suggest creating a contingency plan.

Highlighting a positive about your employees reinforces your work environment, but only if what you are stating is true.  The worst thing you can do is lie about your employees, stating a false positive will hurt you far more than ever help you.  Sharing the truth is always the best thing to do, especially on social networks.

The best way to highlight your employees is by talking about something they have done outside of work, share how proud the company is of them for their award or achievement or share about how an employee was spotted going the extra mile.  These are all ways you can positively highlight an employee.

Posting these types of content will set your company apart, humanize your brand, but you can only find success if you share it in a story.  There is a saying I learned about radio when I was the Social Media Producer for K-LOVE, “People will only remember what you say for a short time, but if you tell them a story they will remember it forever.”