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Separating Personal and Business in Social Media

Guest post by: Faith Seekings

Article Overview: How do you keep business and personal separate in social media? A recent panel discussion on social media for SugarCRM observed that whether used for business or personal, as a salesperson or an employee, remember that it's there forever so be careful, professional and aware. A more advanced way to keep them separate is to go in with a plan and share it with all company participants. Give them the tools and guidance needed to be successful in this new arena.

Separating Personal and Business in Social Media

In a recent panel discussion on social media for SugarCRM, one of the questions that came up was 'how do you keep business and personal separate?' The three panelists gave various answers, the main theme being whether used for business or personal, as a salesperson or an employee, remember that it's there forever so be careful, professional and aware.

A more advanced way to keep them separate is to go in with a plan and share it with all company participants. Give them the tools and guidance needed to be successful in this new arena.

Use it as a Marketing Tool

Using a social media platform should be just like any other marketing tool. Before jumping in, figure out who your target is, where to find them (Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn?) and what they're looking for from your company. Use this information to strategize on the best way to communicate with them and using your marketing tools effectively.

Is social media used to raise awareness, educate about your service or industry or stay in touch with existing customers? What are they doing there? What's their pain?

Your Brand and Social Media

Like any other marketing tool, social media needs to be held up to your brand and be considered in relation to everything else, like your website, brochures, etc. Chances are you've developed a look, a voice, a style, and specific marketing objectives. Though social media is often more of a personal approach, corporate brand should apply here too.

A Social Media Marketing Plan...

should include:

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Article Tags: br 2, br 3, company participants, div, existing customers, facebook, font weight, linkedin, marketing objectives, marketing plan, marketing tool, marketing tools, media marketing, media platform, panel discussion, panelists, personal approach, salesperson, sugarcrm, target



Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts - Hi Shri, Thanks for posting this. I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


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