What is your image on social media? Are you seen as a savvy businessperson or perhaps a partier? Do you know what you post online, both business and personal, helps shape your image?
What brings me to this topic today come out of a discussion in our Sunday School class this past Sunday. I’m not going to get all churchy on you today 🙂
We talked about how what you post online is taken by others. I want to pose a few scenarios. I know that everyone can relate to these….
1. The after-hours party picture.
We’ve all been there. Happy hour with a few co-workers. A conference we attended. Even a football tailgate (that hits close to home for me). What does is say about you if there are a lot of pictures of you posted holding a beer bottle or even a red solo cup? If someone is looking at your profile for a prospective job and this is all they see, what do you think they will think? In case you are wondering, yes, that is my husband and myself in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl in 2007. To spare embarrassment of some of my friends, I used myself as an example here. This picture has since been deleted off my Facebook account.
2. The bikini shot.
This applies mainly to teenage girls and ladies who post pictures of themselves in swimsuits. There are a lot of stalkers and child predators online. Do you really want a picture of yourself or your daughter in a swimsuit/bikini for the world to see? If that’s all those teenage boys see, they don’t just see a nice looking girl in a swimsuit, they see someone they might be able to take advantage of. Sorry, that’s a teenage boy for you. For the women, I’m sure your male counterparts at work do not want to see pictures of you at the beach. One of the secretaries at my husband’s office did this and she has no idea what those guys are saying about her behind her back. Trust me, it wasn’t compliments. Now I know they shouldn’t be doing that, but the reality is, that is what happened. I could make this one bullet point an entire post in itself. Fortunately, I get to speak at our church’s girls conference on this topic!
3. Your grievances.
Please, please, please whatever you do, do NOT air your dirty laundry or complain your friends, co-workers or job. That is the quickest way to not get a job or get fired. I quickly unfriend/unfollow those who do that. I love my friends but some of them do this and it’s a big turn off.
If you have any of these on your accounts, may I suggest you go ahead and remove them? Any prospective client or employer will be checking you out online. You want to show them the wonderful, professional professional you are.
I invite you to chime in – what would be some tips you would give someone on their social media image?
Excellent article.
Good sound advice here Mandy. I think it pays to use common sense when posting and to ask yourself what would you think of yourself if you were visiting that page?
You have gone even farther than some other posts I have seen. Good job!
It’s amazing what people post sometimes, I always advocate being positive, taking a deep breath when you think you’re going to write something negative, and then walk away from the status bar. Great advice about going over your photos and removing them.
When I first started social media I’d post everything, I am far more hesitant now. Because I am a photographer I do post a lot of pictures, but more of what I am taking… It does help with limiting who can see your pictures too though =)
I would add that even having things like photos just visible to friends is not wise if they should not be shown publicly (for whatever reason). It’s a small world, and “friends” might share with a potential employer or someone who you depend on for a reference – it puts everyone in a tight spot.
Good tips here Mandy. It is important to check through your pictures, especially ones that have been up there for awhile and make sure that they are still appropriate.
Great tips here, Mandy. It is really important to think first before posting these kind of images and status. Thanks for the reminder.
Great information for anyone who uses social media. As a business owner I too look at potential new hires presence on social media.
Very important post, Mandy. I have this conversation often with my older Girl Scout troop. They are going into the 10th grade and I keep trying to warn them that colleges they apply to will look at their social media. I have actually unfriended some of them because I find what they are posting as offensive. I even had a conversation with one mother about her daughter’s posts and how it looks. Her solution was to have her daughter unfriend her family and friends…then create a second account and add those people. So she still has the offensive account out there. It’s amazing how parents don’t monitor.
I totally agree with Carolyn – “I think it pays to use common sense when posting and to ask yourself what would you think of yourself if you were visiting that page?” Great post Mandy.
Great points, Mandy. There are just somethings that really need to stay private. I also unfriend folks that are offensive. Thanks!
I unfriend for inappropriateness, too. The world is getting smaller all the time and people need to think before they post!
I agree with Carolyn, too. I think that if more people used common sense and took a moment to think about it, there would be less of an issue with posts and pictures that are damaging. Very important info that you have shared, Mandy! I will be sharing it!
Great tips and although I agree we shouldn’t “air dirty laundry” we have to be careful to balance the authenticity line. I have seen some pretty active players in the social media field that are all sunshine and loveliness..I don’ know about you..But my life isn’t always like that and when I see others doing this I get a big warning signal. Great post and I will be sharing 🙂
All very valid and important tips…much to consider! Thanks for sharing!
OMGoodness…all these tips are important and essential for all to implement. No one wants to read about your troubles or complaining…and most certainly I don’t want to see you in your ‘speedo’…eeek! Wish more people would understand these rules…thanks for sharing:)
Excellent article for all baby-boomers engaging online to consider. I, like you delete friends who swear, post nasty pictures or bring their “stuff” online in public. It’s just not where they should be doing that. Thank you for this timely article, Mandy.
I assume that every piece of digital flotsam I put on the internet is going to stay there forever and absolutely everyone can read it. Because ultimately they will be able to. My heads up came when I found a comment I made on a forum in 2002 asking about using copper countertops in a kitchen. It’s still there. Not that it was private or confidential, just that 10 years later it’s still floating around … and will be forever…
Great article! I know what you mean when’s see some posts I am shocked that people write certain things. My boss’s daughter posts way too much info which my colleagues see and we know when she is going to call in sick the next day! People forget that they make themselves to visible online without thinking of the impact.
I have seen a lot of dirty laundry aired. Do people not understand YET that it is here for the world to see? Is this their time to be heard, is that why they do it? I have a friend who’s daughter is my ‘friend’ too. She is forever posting foul language etc….It’s not appealing. Now I am no saint, I can be foul too, but there is a time and a place. (ok well maybe not for foulness)
there is such a thing as too much public stuff.. it’s too bad people don’t understand the power of social media and what is the right thing to post! Very Nice Job Mandy as always!
ahh there is such a thing as too much sharing and thank you for pointing this out.. there are things that just should not be shared with the general public LOL Like a Bikini picture lol My daughter do agree yet.but they will one day.! I have taken people off my friend’s list because I just didn’t want to read all their dirty laundry and negative thoughts. They are still my friends but I just can’t see that stuff every time I log on to my social media!
Great post Mandy! I absolutely agree. It amazes me that people don’t realize negative posts and images will impact them in more ways than one. A positive, professional image is both important both online and off! Thanks for sharing!
Good stuff, Mandy! I agree totally!
100% agree with these points. By the time I got to your last point, I was chuckling at the screen shot you took. Even though reading the image as part of this post is funny (since you’re blatantly pointing it out as an example of WHAT NOT TO DO), it really is something that I would PREFER NOT to see online.
Great article, Mandy! All points are spot on though I do agree with Anita that we do need to balance authenticity. Life is not all roses for any of us and I do not reject the expression of frustration, challenge, upset or disappointments as I too experience them. If it is a lifestyle of expressing grievances then yes, I do agree. Don’t need the negativity. But be real is my moto!
I agree Mandy. I don’t know that there’s a “right” and “wrong” here, as much as there is just a need to be aware of what image you are portraying and whether it’s furthering your goals on social media. I remember seeing a picture of one of my early coaches on FB in a picture where he obviously had too much to drink and it was a huge turn-off. Not that I mind if someone gets lit, but if you’re using social media for business, that’s probably not the place to post your personal party pics . . .