Using social media as a marketing tool for your business is a no brainer, but things get a bit trickier when trying to understand exactly what to be posting.

Do you want to keep your pages strictly business and only show off your products? Is highlighting your bachelorette at a night club the right move for your dog food business?

The bad news: there isn’t a correct answer for this. Like a proper politician, we’re here to tell you that it all depends on a few things. Really, it comes down to your audience, the kind of business you’re promoting and what you want to post. 

The good news: that we’re here to give you some guidelines. The professional VS political dispute may not be completely black and white, but there are definitely some things to know and standards to lead your social strategy.  

Factor 1: What kind of business do you have?

The type of business you have will probably the biggest factor in determining how much personal posting you want to do. The big thing to consider here is whether you’re selling a product or whether you’re selling yourself in some way. 

If you’re selling iPhone cases, then maybe it isn’t so important to have your face on the company page a few times a week. 

On the other hand, if you’re a realtor, if you offer coaching services or if you sell an online course, YOU are basically the brand. You may ‘technically’ be selling a ‘thing’, but in the end, people want to know who they’re dealing with face to face. A business that interacts directly with their audience should show much more of their natural side. 

@tanyaeklund does a great job of keeping a balance on her realtor business account

Factor 2: What does your audience like?

Ultimately, it comes down to what your audience (aka hopefully your customer) wants. Social media is constantly changing, so it’s important to roll with the punches, as well as experiment a bit.

If you normally stick to 100% professional product photos, try putting one or two more personal shots in for next month’s content. See what happens! You may find that your audience absolutely LOVES your team meeting photo. If you have tons of likes and comments, then consider that a win! This way you know that you should post a bit more personal or behind the scenes content. 

An easy-going and personal post on @calgaryphotos.ca ‘s Insta always has great results!

Factor 3: What do you want to post?

Maybe your audience is #1, but that doesn’t mean you don’t matter here! If you absolutely HATE showing your face on camera and the idea of it makes you want to curl up in a ball and cry for a week before you get on a plane to Indonesia and disconnect from the virtual world completely forever, then a personal dominant feed may not be for you. 

Of course, you should try to step out of your comfort zone a bit, but perhaps that means once a month. Maybe that means a bit more behind-the-scenes posts and meet-the-team posts, and a lot less you-on-the-pic posts.

That’s ok, too! If you feel more comfortable next year, you can always readjust your approach. 

@unacalgary gives there feed some personality by featuring their staff, and not necessarily the owners of the restaurant!

I don’t really fall into these categories, can I just stick to my full-on business feed?

You (obviously) can do whatever you so please, we won’t put a warrant out for your arrest. YET we don’t recommend the 110% professional approach. 

Why? Because social media is meant to be social. People crave this element of the platforms. With an occasional casual and personal post, you can really tap into the human side of your followers and maybe reach even more people by seeing real and authentic. 

We recommend…

We still recommend being selective with what you post and staying somewhat on brand. Show people the real side of you in relation to your business. Using the product, showing events related to your area of business, talking about new developments, introducing the team that makes your product come to life- these all work great! Just don’t worry about every single post being perfect and curated, since that simply isn’t relatable for most people.

Got a headache just reading about these posting dos and donts?! We got you covered – check out our social media management offerings right here!