For the aspiring small business owner, the importance of social media outlets in branding your products and connecting with your potential customers cannot be ignored. Sites such as FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn are mainstays in the new world of marketing and work alongside tried and true ‘regular’ promotional methodologies.
What is becoming more and more important to be aware of and plan ahead for, in this world of social interconnectivity, is the blurring of personal and professional personas.
Certainly, there are hundreds of millions of people that are FaceBook members and only a small percentage of them are business owners. But how important is it for the consumer who is searching for a company or service and comes across the personal FB page of the CEO where he or she is posting comments with questionable language or hosting interesting photos? Ideally, that is where the various levels of privacy would come into play, but can this be counted on?
In the case of a social media tool like Twitter, how should one approach their personal and professional differences? Should a business owner create a personal and a professional account, always being diligent to keep the Following and Followers very segmented and regimented?
Or even with a more professional service like LinkedIn: what level of personal information does a person post there in an effort to come across as personable, yet professional?
The internet and social media have closed the gap between how business services and business owners are viewed. Social media consultants now offer their services in providing recommendations in how to use these tools successfully to sell your brand, build your customer base and connect with the people that are buying your product or service.
Indeed, these tools must be part of any business deployment, but should always be considered a double-edged sword. Once something is out, there is no magic RETRACT button.