I get this question often,

How do you balance personal and professional Tweets, or at some point does your personal Twitter become all about your company/industry as you are somewhat the online face of that brand? –from Janet in answers.oneforty.com

There isn’t a one-size fits all answer but I’ll guide you in the direction.

Twitter is person-to-person network.

People are not interested in being “friends” with your brand. I may follow your brand or organization for news, support, or deals but I’m not going to DM you and ask about your day.

Relationships are built between people. An organization may garner loyalty and advocacy but real relationships are strictly between individuals.

Is there a place for you business on Twitter? Absolutely

The potential to inform and interact with existing customers while providing opportunities to connect with potential clients is too great to miss.

So how do we find balance?

I’ll let you in on a little secret ->Be You

People are not a single faceted profiles summed up in 140 characters. We work, volunteer, take care of family, enjoy hobbies, root for sports teams, eat, and travel.

This shared experience on Twitter is crucial to relationship building.

If you are in the business of selling widgets. Then i know some of your Tweets are about selling widgets. It’s part of who you are.

But what people respond to is humanity.

It’s seeing pictures of @LouisGray’s kids or being tempted by @BryanJones #TacoTruckFriday that develops much stronger connections.

So what’s the point of this love fest of relationship building? People do business with people they like.

The balance is different for all of us but you are welcome to use my mantra

“Be helpful, Be useful, Be Kind, Be You.”

Personal vs. Professional accounts.

3 approaches for balancing business and personal profiles

The company is the company, I am me.

This approach uses an identifiable, dedicated company twitter account which allows the individuals associated with the company to maintain more personal accounts.

To illustrate let’s look at the excellent example of @FirehouseSubs & @RobinSorensen

@FirehouseSubs is the corporate account for Firehouse Subs. Their tweets promote their core business, encourage feedback, actively engage their customers, and are very responsive to their followers. Anyone that enjoys Firehouse Subs would find this account a joy to follow. They are a great example of how a business can use Twitter.

@RobinSorensen is the cofounder of Firehouse and its obvious the role he plays in the organization. His Twitter background shows Firehouse imagery, the bio states his relationship to Firehous, his bio link points to FireHouseSubs.com, and many of his tweets are about his activity within the organization. (*Note: See how he makes the organization very human as he tweets about visiting different locations and their foundation charity efforts.) However, Robin also tweets about golf, trips, shares twitpics, and even wished his Mom Happy Birthday through Twitter. There is no question that this is his authentic self.

This is a stellar strategy.

The corporate account is fun, engaging, & informative, while the personal accounts allow the people to just be themselves.

Remember the goal is to be you. People will respond and connect!

For another great example see @SouthwestAir & @ChristiMcNeill

I am the company, I am me

In some organizations there are times that you need to build a business only twitter account.

I see this most often in large organizations where having hundreds of people connected to the primary Twitter account doesn’t scale or business interests are just too diverse.

The individual strategy is have a truly personal twitter account but your second professional twitter profile is focused solely on your business mission.

On of the best examples of doing this well is Liz Phillips, @iizLiz & @LizaatHP

First, both bios identify her, their individual purpose, and indicate the presence of the other account. I can see exactly why she has two accounts and through her clear communication of their presence and purpose I have an easy choice of which accounts I want to follow. In my case, both.

Take a look at both twitter streams and you’ll see how she is authentic throughout her presences. The @LizatHP account allows her to completely focus on people that are interested in her core business while the personal accounts gives her the freedom to just be Liz. Of course in Liz’s case she is a respected community organizer and her @iizliz account brings relationship capital into her @LizaatHP community.

If you are going to embark on this strategy here are a couple of tips:

• Write a mission statement. This will focus your efforts and define the purpose for your followers.
• Clearly identify each account. This builds authenticity and allows you to benefit from the crossover between business and personal relationships

I am the Company

There is a third approach that arises when you are the brand. Your business is you and therefore the answer is simple… be you.

Look at @ChrisBrogan, @Scobleizer, & @MariSmith There is no doubt who they are and what their business is but their accounts are just a reflection of them.

Takeaways

Regardless of your approach to balancing business and your individual account remember:

• Moderation is key
• Relationships are the goal
• People do business with people they like

Tagged as: Business, Twitter