When Facebook and Twitter first arrived, there was a lot of talk about creating two accounts: one for professional use and one for personal use. People didn’t want to mix up the two audiences.
I never thought having two accounts was a good idea, unless you were a public figure. Being just a “regular joe” it seemed like a lot of effort to maintain two accounts for each social media platform. If your account was supposed to be YOU, isn’t your work and personal life what makes up YOU?
When I follow people on social media, I like to know the whole person. It’s interesting to know what people do as well as their personal interests. By knowing a bit about someone professionally and personally, you never know when that person might be able to help you.
People who follow me know I post a lot about Legos and soccer (because I have two boys who are VERY into both of those things). I also post things about public relations (because that’s my job) and credit unions (because I work in the credit union industry).
In the past couple of weeks, I have had two instances where someone has reached out to me via Twitter and Facebook asking about credit unions. If I had kept separate accounts, those following my personal account would have no idea I could help them with a credit union question. I have become a resource for those folks.
As a communications professional for the credit union industry, my job is to promote the value of credit unions. I don’t know if either of these folks ultimately became a member of a credit union, but I gave them some insight into these not-for-profit financial cooperatives.
I’m not suggesting everyone put every little detail of their life “out there,” but you never know who might reach out to you for you knowledge and expertise.
One Kansas Girl 