We have seen many brands and organizations go forward with trying to have the best social media presence online. Whether it is on Facebook, Instagram, or Vine to name a few – the competition is intense for brands presently. Everyone is looking for the latest trends for the upcoming year to see what they can do that is different, promotes their story, builds communities, and resonates with their audiences in a more authentic and transparent manner. However, the latest we are seeing is how brands can strategically use social media to present their personalities effectively.
Looking at corporate or brand personalities has been established in the academic literature as well. On a personal note, this was actually the topic I focused on when I did my Master’s thesis back at USC seven years ago (wow! Time has flown by since then!) I was interested to see how personalities from key individuals within a brand impacted the entire personality of the organization. We have seen cases like this when you are looking at CEOs or figure heads for some of the biggest or iconic brands out there like Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Virgin, Google, and others.
In the PR and social media field, we have seen actually several articles, including this one from Forbes, discussing one of the ways brands can separate themselves from others, and that is to showcase their personality. Several articles have discussed how brands can do this from memes, asking questions, and other strategies to help create conversations and interactions with others online. Brands like Oreo, Taco Bell, Coca-Cola, and others have been successful with these activities, but others have struggled to find their persona and voice when it comes to social media.
However, there are some things we can take away from and look at how to effectively engage audiences by showing your personality. Here are five things I have found to be successful:
- Be real with who you are online: I have shared this same discussion and point with my social media class this semester – you have to be you online. Yes, there is a fine line of course to being professional and also showcasing your personality, but it can be done. Determine what attributes you want to showcase with others and make sure that these come out on social media.
- Right combination of content sharing: You have to realize if you broadcast information all of the time, you are going to miss out the chance to have one-on-one conversations. Offline, we don’t always broadcast and have a huge audience, but it’s more like having conversations with another person or even a small group. Engage within these conversations also online to make sure you have the right combination here.
- Don’t be afraid of sharing information – we are all human: I see this a lot when it comes to my fellow professor colleagues. Some are afraid to show others online (ex. students, faculty, etc) behind their professor presence on social media. I do think that you have to be aware of what you post and share online of course – but you want to share with others what you are interested in and who you are online. As my students know, I do share my love for coffee, my enthusiasm for travel and cooking, and how much I like social media pretty much on a regular basis, but that’s me!
- Consistent with offline/online interactions: One of the biggest challenges I see with social media practices is the fact people still are separate for how they operate online versus online. You want to make sure this is consistent so if people meet you offline, they can say – wow! You are exactly how you are online! You want this to happen. You want to also answer questions from others, respond to RTs and shares, and take the time to practice proper etiquette online with your social media colleagues online. One set of manners is key. 🙂
- Define who you are online: Take ownership of your profile (register your domain name, etc) and connect your profile to your social media platforms to establish a consistent and authentic identity online.
In summary, I think we are seeing a shift within social media for brands and individuals to think about their personalities and how to best share these characteristics with others on social media. It does take strategy to consider all of these components and it may be hard at first to do this, but we have to remember first and foremost about social media – it’s social – and it’s about formulating relationships, conversations, and great experiences to be shared with communities across different platforms.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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