How to Get Comfortable with Getting Personal on Social Media

If you’ve taken notice of how your personal social media accounts engage far more interactions than your business accounts – you’re not the only one. In particular, Facebook continues to make major changes to their algorithms that determine whether or not your content appears in people’s newsfeeds. The bottom line is that business pages are getting hit the hardest with the negative impact of these changes and personal accounts are becoming more and more valuable for reaching a broader audience.

Yes, social media is a vast unknown and a very public forum. It can be intimidating to think about how the content you put out on your social profile will live on for eternity. So while it’s more important than ever to be smart about what you post, it’s becoming equally important to be personal and genuine. This type of content is rewarded with far more views. Additionally, people feel more compelled to comment, like and share content that feels “human” – and not like a sales pitch.

If we want to better promote our personal brand, engage our core audience and grow our business, we need to shift our focus away from trying to “outsmart the system” with shady SEO tactics and tricky automated posting and toward quality, genuine content posted by us – a human. Moreover, we need to open up, get more personal and allow our fans and followers to connect with the person behind the business.

Let’s take a look at 9 ways to get comfortable with getting more personal on social media – in a safe and professional manner.

Speak to your core audience.

For the vast majority of us, we have far more connections on our social media profiles than we will ever have friends in real life. This is part of the beauty of social media, but also part of the downfall. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the thought of your content reaching thousands upon thousands of people.

Who are these people, really? What do they think about me? Why do they even want to hear what I have to say? These doubt-filled questions can really do a number on your self-confidence and your willingness to share personal and genuine information about your life. Forget about these “unknown” followers and rather focus on your core audience – the people you know in real life or with whom you have built a meaningful relationship online. Talk to your supporters, your cheerleaders and ignore the opinions of all the rest. If they don’t like your content, they’ll weed themselves out.

Showcase more than just your “brag reel.”

Social media is fun because we can carefully frame all of our life events so that they appear far more fabulous and perfect than they really are. Not to mention how we are able to completely crop out the mistakes, bad days and blunders we don’t want people to know about.

But in order for people to get to know the real you, you have to share the good with the bad. This means letting people know when you’ve made a silly mistake, have a “case of the Monday’s” or are just in a bad mood. Not only does this make you more genuine, it helps people connect with you on a deeper level because, guess what, they’ve been there too! Best of all, you will find that your core audience will rally around you in support and help move you on to a more positive moment.

Be positive.

In sharing both the highs and the lows on your newsfeed, be sure to stay positive. Don’t rant or throw someone/some business under the bus. I have yet to see a scenario where this is ever justified – maybe between you and a close friend in a private conversation, but never on social media. Stay classy and stay positive. This will draw in other positive people and create a welcoming and uplifting environment in which you feel comfortable getting personal.

Mix in quotes with photos.

There are only so many selfies or photos of your food, pets and kids that you can share in a day without overdoing it. Mix up your social stream by sharing images that capture people’s attention and inspire them. Use quotes! Pinterest is a great source of quotes for any topic you can imagine that are already formatted into images. Build a small library as you have time so that the quotes are ready to go whenever you want to share them. Inspiring people is a powerful way to connect with them on a deeper level and build a loyal following.

Interact with your audience.

This one is so important! If you want to engage people on social media, you must give to receive. This means setting aside a finite period of time each day (and don’t go over!) when you browse your newsfeed and like, comment, share and follow content that interests you. Leave meaningful comments or ask questions. I can’t say enough about how important it is to be “social” on social media.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

No matter how you slice it, selfies are always going to feel a little awkward, cheesy and narcissistic. Just have fun with your social media content! Make a funny face, crack jokes, be sarcastic and make fun of yourself from time to time. All of these things will help to make you real and relatable to your audience.

Not everyone has to be shared in real time.

Some days lend themselves to countless opportunities to share updates on social media. Vacations, holidays, weekends, birthday parties and other celebrations provide far more content than what our audience likely wants to see in a day (or an hour). Enjoy the moment, take those snap shots, but save some for later. Thanks to #ThrowBackThursday and #FlashBackFriday (or any day of the week, if you’re feeling bold), you can use these photos as content for another day. Whether or not your audience connects with your content really comes down to the caption, so make it clever and relevant!

Don’t tolerate trolls.

Even if you post genuine, uplifting content that shows your personal side, you will inevitably run into social media “trolls” who have no problem leaving biting comments while hiding behind their social media mask. This is my advice on how to handle such situations. If a comment contains a personal attack, profanity or untruthful information, you have every right to delete it and black the user. Just as you wouldn’t put up with being bullied in real life, don’t tolerate hateful and hurtful comments that are unsolicited.

Be personal while still being appropriate.

Finally, and most importantly, carefully walk the fine line of being personal while still being appropriate. It’s possible (and we’ve likely all seen it) to get too comfortable with sharing personal updates on social media. I’ve had everything from family feuds to detailed medical information voluntarily shared by members of my network. The best rule of thumb is to assume your grandma can and is reading everything you post. Make her proud by building a strong personal brand that is engaging and professional!

Do you choose to share personal photos and updates on social media? What are some of the reasons behind your decision? Join in the conversation by commenting below!