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Professional or Personal Sharing? Just Be Authentic.

Posted on December 9, 2011 · 4 Comments

Like many people who work in my field of employment, there’s always a dilemma on what types of content to share on our personal social channels. Do we share professional, industry related articles that help prove that we’re connected and up-to-date? Or do we share personal stuff, the life-streamy types of things?

I’ve known a few people to actually set up multiple profiles – one for their personal lives and a separate set of social accounts to share more “business” related tweets. Is it really worth the time? My answer is simple.

No.

Reading an article from AdAge this week re-affirmed that. The author spoke about how nobody wanted polish (that’s paw-lish, not poe-lish like how I first read the title) but worn, rough and real.Being “all business” is honestly quite boring. Always tweeting out TechCrunch and Business Insider articles with no other layers of personality doesn’t really attract people. This quote from Martin Lindstrom says it best:

“We’re sick and tired of picture-perfect babies and flawless models. Why do we love YouTube videos so much? Because they’re imperfect, amateurish, and the people in them remind us of us.”

Look at which YouTube video channels do the best. Not the ones with the most polished video editing or production but the ones that look the most authentic – the ones that we relate to the best. In regards to politicians, George W Bush was definitely far less polished publicly than John Kerry when they were running against each other for president. However, I feel like a large part of the reason he won was because of that lack of polish. He seemed more like a real person than a robot, more of an average Joe.

It’s good to show professionalism and industry thought leadership…especially if your industry is something you are also personally passionate about. But having a blend of personal items and letting your hair down online is also key. People don’t want to follow robots, they want to follow people.

What do you think? Where do you find balance?

 

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  • http://twitter.com/juliacantor julia cantor

    I used to refer to Facebook as the new People Magazine – all of a sudden everyone is interested in real people’s lives rather than celebrities… and it has been very interesting to me to see thought leaders emerge as celebrities. This is a great post, Drew. Love the quote and I completely agree. 

    • http://www.brainwads.net/drewhawkins Drew Hawkins

      Thanks, I really wish I could take credit for the quote. After reading that quote, makes me want to try and read some of Lindstrom’s books. 

  • Rachel

    Drew great article…I struggle with this as well..but it is more how much do I share through Preston and how much do I share through my personal Facebook page..which isn’t much now days.  Most people are honestly more interested in what my dog is doing than me lol.

    • http://www.brainwads.net/drewhawkins Drew Hawkins

      Thanks Rachel, that balance is hard to find. I bet it’s especially hard when there are puppies in the mix ;) We just got a new puppy at our house ourselves, maybe he should start blogging too?