Whether you are starting your own small business, working for a large company, or not currently working at all, it’s important to practice professional and safe social media habits.

Especially you are considering starting your own business, or even if you already have it up and running, you may not realize the importance of your personal social media pages (in addition to your business page). Thanks to the internet, anyone is able to find you online – even your private accounts – so in order to expand your business brand and keep a positive light on the company name, there are a few practices you should follow.

Did you know? What you post on your personal page is, in some cases, just as important as what you post on your company page.

• We are 3x more likely to trust content shared by people we know than content shared by brands.
• We are 8x more likely to engage with content shared by employees than content shared by brands.
• We are 24x more likely to re-share content shared by employees than shared by brands.
• Leads generated by employees convert 7x more frequently than other types of leads.

The content you post and engage with on your personal page can give current and prospective customers an inside look behind the scenes into the lives of the CEO or the personnel. Even if you have a fake profile to run your business page, you likely have your name listed on LinkedIn, Facebook, a business website, or other page online that associates you with your business. If it’s online, the customers can find you. And even if your profile is private, it’s important to follow these tips to ensure a professional, personable appearance.

If you have a job or business in which your personal page is your business page, like a hair stylist or if you sell different products (like Avon or Tupperware), these tips are especially important.

Tips for Building Your Brand:

• Update your profile picture. It should be professional and represent you. Make sure it’s of you and your face.
  
• Optimize the Descriptions section across all of your social accounts. If you are able, reference or link to your company website. Write a few sentences about what you do, what you believe in, and you and your company’s vision and mission. You can also be personal if that makes sense for your business – maybe you want to reference where you live, what your family looks like, and what you like to do in your free time.
  
• Coordinate all of your social accounts. If you have a Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or other account, ask yourself – are you telling the same story on all? Or different? You’ll want all of your accounts to match and be similar in the vision they portray.
  
  Now is also the time to take stock of old accounts you may have out there, like Myspace. Either delete these profiles, or make sure they are marked private.

• Identify your interests and passions – and post about them. Especially if they relate to your business or the empire you are trying to build. Share professional, expertise articles from reliable sources or subject matter experts. Make sure they are fun, engaging and appropriate. Post about relevant or interesting trends within your industry, advice, tips or hacks friends can use, reactions and responses to trending posts, or photos, videos or infographics related to your industry or other helpful information.
  
• Be authentic. Be real and honest in what you post. Don’t try to put on a show or be fake to your followers or customers. Be self-aware about what you post and how you present yourself and your business, find genuine connections, and don’t worry about being perfect. Also, be present.
  
• Use your presence to watch your customers. Know who your audience is and figure out what interests them. Pay attention to what they are talking about and interacting with so you can be in that space as well. Stay relevant and on top of trends.
  
• Be timely. Post on a regular basis, and act quickly if there is something happening in your industry that you should respond to. Or, if there is anything going on with your business.
  
• Interact with your business/professional page. As discussed above, content shared by employees and people is more trusted, engaged with and shared than posts on a business page. One of those people engaging should be you! Share and interact with your content and ask yourself what value you can add.
  
• Interact with similar businesses and influencers. Follow them on LinkedIn. “Like” their pages. Pay attention to what they are posting and talking about, and use them as inspiration for your own content. Not only can you get ideas from them, but you can learn from them to help better yourself as an entrepreneur and marketer.
  
  You can also join social groups with other professionals on topics you are interested in, including your industry.
  
• Be mindful that everything you post is and will remain public information. Even if you think something is deleted, chances are it can still be found. Do what you feel necessary to protect your privacy.
  
• Avoid engaging with or posting about controversial topics. Or, at the very least, recognize that posting about or engaging with these topics could potentially lose your customers. You should also avoid discriminating, harassing or demeaning language, negative or defamatory statements, or abusive, profane or offensive language.

Above all, use your best judgment. Understand there could be professional consequences that come out of your social media activity. If you wouldn’t post it on your professional or business page, you probably shouldn’t post it on your personal page. While it is ok to use your personal page for personal interactions, like sharing photos of pets, children, vacations, etc., always be mindful of your presence and impact it could have on customers.