Your Social Media Personality is Kind of a Big Deal

(Originally published April 12, 2017)

Running a business can often be a bit like a form of self-discovery, having to really hone in on your core values, developing an understanding of what it is that you want to represent through your work.

Sure, self-discovery can be one of those terms we associate with lying on a couch and talking about our feelings (shudder) but it’s important to know how you represent yourself. Your business is a little piece of you that you are throwing out into the world for other people to critique and hopefully embrace.

Isn’t it funny how social media pretty much does the exact same thing?

I think you’d probably agree with us that social media has well and truly taken over the world. It’s a pretty rare occasion to meet someone who isn’t connected to three or four different social platforms, constantly checking, updating, mindlessly scrolling through a feed.

Social media is like a puppy, when you first get it, it’s all fun and novel, but after you’ve cleaned a few wees off the carpet you start to realise that this little bundle of joy is going to require your constant attention and care. You have to feed it, clean it, do activities with it. It even ends up looking just like you!

Your social media accounts are what makes the difference between a cold fronted, ‘all about the money’ persona and one that cares about the real stuff and the real people. Your customers don’t want to feel like customers, they want to feel like a community.

Once you start getting into the digital sphere and developing your business as a brand, your journey of self-discovery becomes even more poignant. In the digital world, personality is everything. You need your audience to be your friend, your digital presence should amplify the message you want to send as a business.

The strategies behind a social media presence are a clever thing. Your accounts should look effortless and beautiful while actually being completely organised and planned to a tee to communicate a specific message with your audience. Whether you’re managing this little online personality yourself or calling in the professionals (ahem) the most important thing is that you are building a community that reflects the values you represent as a business.

Originally published at https://bellette.com.au.