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Social media sites have surpassed television as a way to spend time, but they also present a number of great opportunities for businesses to stay in touch with their clientele. Having a strong social media presence today is comparable to having active television ad campaigns in the past. If you plan to incorporate social networking in your business, you need to know what types of accounts there are and the rules for each one.

What Kinds of Accounts Are There?

There are three main types of accounts:

• A personal account is one created for yourself, primarily to connect with friends, relatives, and so forth. It’s not going to be sent to clients or bosses, and you’re not likely to accept friend requests from these people, either.

• A professional account, such as LinkedIn, is a relationship-marketing tool you can use to keep in touch with current clients and win potential clients.

• A mixed account is one that is personal, but sometimes you may use it to make business connections or to do business networking.

The exact rules for your social media account aren’t set in stone, but you’ll want to be careful about the way you present yourself or your company dependent on the type of presence you’re trying to have. If you have a personal account, that doesn’t mean you’ve entered a lawless territory. Even if you don’t intend to have clients or colleagues see the information you post there, they will often have access to it through web searches, friends of friends, and so forth. As such, avoid the following things:

• Insulting clients or coworkers.
• Posting anything scandalous enough that it might ruin a business relationship.
• Approaching your statements or beliefs in an aggressive way. You can talk about your religion or politics; just don’t get in people’s faces. They might not be the faces you were expecting.

With a professional account, you should still seek to provide useful information for your clients. However, you should definitely use the name of your company, use branding when possible, and otherwise make yourself known. In this territory, you need to avoid sensitive subjects. The primary difference between a professional account and a mixed one is that you can use your own name, face, and information for the mixed account. While you can add little personal touches, you will want to stay businesslike in this scenario.

Use Resources to Keep Your Accounts Separate

The chances are, you won’t want just one type of account. After all, each has its own purpose. By using email hosting to create emails for multiple profiles and by using the filters and labels for your email account, you can easily organize accounts of all shapes and sizes, including social networking accounts. By separating them correctly, you can keep connected while presenting the right face to the right crowd. When you understand the function and the rules for different types of accounts, you can put social networking to work for you on personal and professional levels. With the right approach, you can connect with friends and loved ones while you market your business.

Image Source: Brian Solis