8 Tips to Balance Your Personal, Professional Lives on Social Media

Social media is about authentic communication with you audience, and no one likes to read news feeds clogged with ads and overly promotional content about your brand, products and services. Moreover, it can be a huge turn-off to many and may even jeopardize your credibility as a brand.

What is an “overly promotional” post? According to Facebook in an announcement last year, overly promotional posts in news feeds include:

• • Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app
  • Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context
  • Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads

Tip 5: Share something local

With social media, you have the opportunity to share with your connections local news and events that are happening in your area. This will not only help you keep a pulse on your community, but allow you to provide valuable information for others to potentially engage with.

Examples of what to post at the local level include:

• • Commentary on local news stories
  • Events or activities that you are personally participating in (such as a food drive, sporting activity, or fundraising event)
  • Announcements of local community events that may be relevant to your audience (e.g. job fairs or free tax planning workshops)

Not sure about where to source local content to incorporate into your social media posts? Subscribe to local industry publications, follow local bloggers, follow local news sources on Twitter, and/or create Google Alerts for local events.

Tip 6: Share interesting, appropriate photos

Posting photos on social media can be tricky for some. At a recent SIFMA social media event, one financial services executive cautioned advisors not to use Twitter at a party with a phone in one hand and glass of wine in the other — mainly because you never know how someone in your network might perceive a photo of you in certain situations.

A good rule of thumb is to think twice before you post that photo on social media. You wouldn’t want to share something that might put you in an unfavorable light.

Examples include:

• • Photos of you drinking alcohol at a bar or at a party
  • Photos of you showing too much skin on the beach
  • Photos of you in questionable costume gear (e.g. a racy or scary Halloween costume)

Tip 7: Avoid posting negative comments or complaints

Social media should not be used to vent your frustrations or share negative comments about a person, place or thing. Everything you say on social media will follow you, and you wouldn’t want to come across as being vindictive. This would include comments and complaints about current or past employers, competitors, former or present co-workers, or current and past clients.   

Tip 8: Avoid anything you would not feel comfortable sharing with your boss or clients in person

Before sharing any content on social media, consider how you’d feel if your boss or client read or saw what you posted. If it would offend anyone because of the nature of the post – such as foul language, religious views or hotly debated positions about a political candidate – it’s probably best to leave it out.

It’s very easy to jeopardize your social presence by sharing too much or too little or simply not the right kind of content. You can strike the right balance that highlights both your personal and professional side by sharing what is suitable and helpful to your connections. In the end, this will help you stand out as someone your clients can trust – which is essential for providing financial advice.