I’m somewhat of a political junkie. I grew up in a household where every Sunday morning was devoted to those talk political shows. You know the ones, like “Meet the Press” and “The McLaughlin Group” where a bunch of political analysts, news reports, and politicians complain about current policies. We had no choice in the matter, my father had ultimate control of the remote so we either had to sit and watch or busy ourselves with something else. The older I got, the more I watched these shows with my father. It was a fun time for me, he being a staunch conservative Republican and me being a little farther left than what’s socially acceptable to these days. I would argue one side, he would take the other side, no one would win the argument.
This is usually the case of most political discussions these days, I’m afraid to say. You just have to mention the names “Hillary,” or “Trump,” or even “Palin” and watch the fur fly among your friends. As a former newspaper journalist, I was told that you should never mention what side of the coin you’re on because you’re a representative of the “objective” media. Even to this day, five years since I’ve worked in a newsroom, I rarely if ever mention my political beliefs to strangers. Or what sports teams I root for, but that’s another reason entirely.
Some people may take offense to that idea. After all, freedom of speech is one of our rights as Americans and you should voice your opinions to the great masses. After all, just look at what’s written on your Facebook wall.
And that’s my point. Social media has become a crucial communications tool for many. No longer do we have to rely on a phone call or email to speak to people from a distance away. Thanks to the power of social media, we can interact with anyone anywhere at anytime. And we can say or post whatever we want. Post that picture of you wasted at some party playing a drinking game? Sure go ahead! Post that extremely racist quote? Knock yourself out. Write out a rant about how America is going to hell? Have fun with that. Social media has a nasty dark side that can make you want to avoid going on it for a week.
Many times when a new client wants us to handle his/her social media marketing, one of the major rules we always warn is not to get too personal. If you win an award, that’s fine, let’s promote it all over the place. But if has anything to do with a controversial matter, that may be something you want to save for your personal account. Your customers should not have the opportunity to make a purchasing decision with your opinions about a particular matter in mind. It could prove to be detrimental by turning some away, especially if their beliefs don’t line up with yours. With a business account, you must always be objective, like the media. Only do a better job of it. It can be hard (it is YOUR business, after all, you should be able to say whatever you want on YOUR page), but unless you’re ready to argue with a bunch of stupidity, I suggest keeping it to yourself.
If you are looking for someone to handle your social media for your business, we can help. Contact ENX2 Marketing today for a free 20-minute consultation of your digital marketing efforts.
