Who Am I Online?

Managing your social media impression between social media platforms and accounts can be tricky depending on how you want to present yourself across the platforms.

​

If you're okay with your brand being the same across all platforms, then your job is really easy. You don't need to worry about creating different rules for each account or care about who follows you. However, if you're more of a private person or aren't comfortable being 100% yourself on all social media platforms, you might want to modify your presence from platform to platform. This can be as simple as not linking your accounts at all or as complex as using different email addresses, usernames, and profile pictures for each account. 

Using my own social media as an example, I have my

Facebook account almost completely separated from my

Instagram, Twitter, and other social media accounts.

Similarly, my LinkedIn account is completely separate

from the rest of my social media. This helps me feel more

comfortable and confident in what content I post on

each site. 

​

Finding the In-Between

​

Many of you are probably like me and want something comfortably in the middle of those two examples I gave. Let's be real, Grandma doesn't need to know how many weekends in a row you go out with friends, but obviously you looked really good, and you want to share the photos with others. If you separate your social media by a few degrees, Grandma won't have to see three hundred low-lit bar selfies, and you can still post them to your heart's content. 

​

In all seriousness, though, impression management between social media platforms can be really helpful in your professional life. There's a huge sense of relief that comes with being able to fully express yourself online. If your accounts are all connected, you have to be so much more careful about what you post. If your employers can all find your social media, you have to keep your content in check. You need to portray yourself in a positive light that reflects well upon your employer, otherwise you risk jeopardizing your employment status. So, separating your social media accounts to a basic degree allows you more freedom to speak your mind on potentially controversial opinions or swear online. There's no guarantee your bosses won't find your account, but it's an extra boundary you can put between your professional and personal lives.       

​

Voice and Brand Management

​

Cultivating your brand and online voice is very important. It not only defines who you are, but, if you do it well enough and avoid cross-posting, it can be very effective at separating your brand or public accounts from those that you don't want the entire internet to see. 

​

Aside from the specifics of keeping your voice varied across accounts you want separated, voice is, in general, a huge part of impression management. The way you speak online gives a lot of indication as to how people perceive you and what they think the person behind the screen is like. Most of us do this already, but it helps to be aware of it so that you can cultivate the exact voice you want to portray the version of yourself you want to share with the internet.

​

Two Accounts on the Same Site

​

Having two separate social media accounts on one site is a very normal thing to do, especially if you're running your own business or promoting your brand separately from your personal accounts. It helps if you don't cross post information from your personal account to your other one. It's totally okay and even smart to share from your brand account to your personal account, but sharing from the other direction can be detrimental to your privacy, if that's something you're worried about.

​

​