What kind of vibe do you convey to customers in person and online? Your social media personality, also known as your online brand voice, isn’t necessarily defined by some test or based on statistics. It’s all about who you are, what you stand for and how you infuse this personality into your day-to-day business interactions.
What’s Your Social Media Personality?
Unless you’re embarking on a new business, you most likely already have a pre-existing brand identity. This doesn’t mean that it has to stay the same forever; over time, you may refresh your brand’s voice and personality to adapt to client needs.
The key is to align your vibe with the values of your customers – it’s not about choosing the voice you want, but finding the voice you need.
Soul Searching
Individuals who are seeking to understand what makes them tick and how they relate to others will often turn to the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test for a little soul searching. It is also one of the most widely and commonly used “professional” personality tests by employers. The MBTI is an assessment that divides people into 16 types based on the combination of traits they fall into. Some psychologists believe these types say a lot about how people think and interact.
It looks at things like how individuals prefer to focus their attention and get energy (extrovert or introvert), take in information (sensing or intuition), make decisions (thinking or feeling), and deal with the outer world (judging or perceiving). These preferences are said to be innate, “inborn predispositions” that interact with and are shaped by environmental influences.
For business purposes, these categories can be helpful to analyze the personality traits of your customers (though we didn’t see quirky as a category in there) and tailor your messaging appropriately.
Understanding Personality Through Social Media
A few years back, the Pew Internet and American Life Project conducted a study on what factors influence whether (and how) people use social media. Here’s a snapshot of what they found:
- Extroverts use social media more so than Introverts. Extroverts are more likely to browse, recommend/share and collaborate with friends than Introverts are.
- Individuals with a preference for Intuition reported using Facebook more than those with a preference for Sensing.
- In general, individuals with a preference for “feeling” spend more time engaging with social media activities than those with a preference for “thinking.” Activities include browsing at least once a day, interacting with others and sharing information about their personal life.
But enough about thinkers and feelers… No matter what personality type, individuals get to convey whatever persona they want on their personal social media profiles. You’re going to encounter all different types of buyers with all different types of personalities on social media. But when it comes to using social media for your business, authenticity is key.
Authentic Brand Social Media Personality
Think about your customers, what made them connect with your brand to begin with. Hone in on your values and messaging to emphasize your human side on Facebook. Use this as a reminder to market more of your brand personality and less of your products.
Because once you’ve established your personality, it’s time to create a streamlined marketing approach across all social media platforms… and that includes posting professional content and standing out from your competition.
Let Post Café Help You Grow Your Business with Social Media
Let the experts at Post Café take the lead for you. Call us at 732-218-9377 to learn more about how to use this powerful tool to your fullest advantage. And check out these “Facebook ‘Like’ Stats that Will Blow Your Mind” if you still need some convincing.
