For some people, it is a natural move from in real life personal relationships to social networking. Their social networking success can come from an instinctive or learned knack for what and when to share the right amount of personal information to make positive connections without boring people or seeming too self-obsessed.
Others, who take a more cautious approach to their lives and personal relationships, cannot imagine WHAT they could share online about themselves while still maintaining a professional image.
Social Networking by Sharing Kitteh Pictures
I was having this discussion with a cautious business owner recently who has social media presences established for the business, but struggles with what to share to both establish professional expertise and make personal connections via social networking. My point was even in a business-to-business setting, people buy from other people. PERSONAL relationships matter in real life business development, and they also matter when you are engaged in online social networking for business development.
You should have seen the reaction though when I mentioned the strategy behind sharing pictures of our cat Clementine (who a Twitter friend dubbed the “Director of Enthusiasm”) on Facebook.
Within a few questions, we found some topics that definitely have the potential for sharing on social networks. The issue is whether this business owner will become comfortable weaving in a more personal feel to social media content.
7 Content Strategy Questions for Building Personal Relationships
If you are struggling with integrating personal information into your social media sharing, here are seven questions you can ask yourself to identify potential personally oriented topics for social media sharing:
- What do you think, know, and believe?
- What are your favorite sources of compelling news and information online?
- What do business associates and clients know about you personally?
- What do you share about yourself when you meet someone at a networking event?
- What is intriguing about you and your professional and personal interactions?
- What is visually intriguing about your life – both professionally and personally?
- What brands, stores, and places do you talk up to people because you appreciate them?
Certainly, you have answers to these questions. If you are struggling with sharing personal information via social media, the answers to these questions can start to form the basis of your personal content sharing strategy.
Social Networking - When and How Much Personal Information
The next big questions to ask and answer are how soon and how much to share personally?
You have to do what works for you, but if you are reluctant to share personal information online, the answers to these last two questions are “sooner than you think” and “more than you want.”
So now that all the questions are answered, it is time to started sharing and building personal relationships to let people get to know you better in an online professional setting! - Mike Brown
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