#AllHallowsReadNISM: Who Will You Be for Social Media Halloween?

by Magdalena Bernhardt | Oct 10, 2017 | EduSocial Blog, Strategy, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Personas and Their Importance in Social Media

When I first read about the National Institute for Social Media’s plan for #AllHallowsReadNISM and the question that keeps me up at night, many different things came to mind. Admittedly, not many were social media related (I am more the snakes and wolves kind of girl). However, thinking about some everyday challenges from work can make a good night’s sleep more complicated to achieve as well. One of these challenges is the problem of personal vs. business. What do I mean by that?

On social media platforms it can be challenging, especially for small business owners, to separate their personal life and private profiles from their business-related accounts and postings. This can lead to a number of challenges and difficulties. Let’s imagine one of these horror scenarios for a moment and paint a dark picture: This small business owner has a driving school and is a very good teacher. He knows exactly how to make the teenagers and young adults realize the importance of being a good and safe driver. With the right balance of humor and strictness he builds an effective relationship with his students. In order to maintain these relationships and profit off of them, the driving instructor created a Facebook account for his school. He invites his students to like his page and to invite their friends and family to do so as well. To invite the students, he friends them beforehand through his personal profile. And this is where the trouble begins. Since it is a personal profile, the driving teacher never really thought about what he was posting there (“It’s only my friends who see what I am writing.”). Well, let’s just imagine the postings were not all PG and PG-13 and not so politically correct. And there we have a potential nightmare that can keep me up at night.

And this is what I want to carve into my three social media Halloween pumpkins to have it shine bright into every dark social media night:

Think before you post! After all, it is the internet and postings potentially travel, so remember who you might encounter online.
Be aware of who surrounds you and how that impacts you and your marketing efforts! If you are surrounded by vegetarians, don’t post a slaughterhouse video and if you are surrounded by teenagers use appropriate language and materials.
Check your settings! If you want to stay private on your profile then keep it private. If you want to use it to do business, make it public and demonstrate a minimum of professionalism.

It can take some getting used to, to have slightly different personas on social media and sometimes it might seem a bit schizophrenic highlighting one side in your private life and another in your professional setting, but hey, we usually don’t go to work in our pajamas, do we?

What is on my bookshelf?

The book I am currently reading and working with does fit into the wish and need for personal development I am hoping for above. In his book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” the author, John C. Maxwell, presents 15 different methods for fostering and practicing growth. The ideas are conveyed through stories from Maxwell’s years of coaching and his work as a pastor and speaker. This makes the reading easy and entertaining. Each of the 15 chapters is rounded out by a number of application tasks to create a bridge from theory to everyday life. Through the questions and calls-to-action at the end of each law, Maxwell creates engagement and more intense knowledge transfer.

Maxwell is convinced that growth can be a never-ending process and that every person can unlock their potential when following these laws and creating habits and rituals for growth.

As a coach. and from personal experience I must agree with Maxwell. Even as a committed learner and someone who has always searched for ways to improve and grow, this book offers some new (to me) ideas that make the process and insights fun and surprising. And many of these ideas can be translated to different aspects of work life: consulting with clients, growing your online presence, or working with a diverse group. A great read for anyone interested in uncovering and tapping into unused potential.

Author: Magdalena Schürmann

Her passion for organization and solving problems benefits Magdalena’s work as a consultant and in coaching private clients as well as small businesses in diverse areas connected to work life – from job changes to social media marketing. In her business ArbeitsLeben Magdalena often helps clients to reduce stress and gain more balance through organization and personal and professional coaching. Her goal is to educate, to encourage, and to empower her clients.