From my lips to God's ear, if I see one more person post a photo of an abused or mistreated animal on Facebook (or any other social media platform), I'm going to scream.
I understand many, many people are passionate about animal rights and other issues involving abuse (as we should be), but sharing all of those graphic, disturbing images on social media won't stop the abuse or sadness. All it's going to do is make others like me feel sad and walk around with awful images in our minds that won't go away.
It's not only these types of posts that bother me (and many other folks out there), there are so many political posts and negative rants to wade through. People seem to lose their minds during the elections; and I've seen far too many people say hurtful and hateful things to others - all in the name of politics. It's sad to see so many friendships and connections go down the tubes over something they really can't control. I've done a lot of "unfollowing" over the past several months rather than having to see all of the negative and nasty stuff in my news feed.
I've been a bit fired up about this lately, so I thought it would make a perfect topic for a post about what type of content really isn't appropriate to be shared in your social media circles, at least when you're a small business owner or one who is (or wants to be) high profile.
It's pretty simple, really. There's only one rule: be mindful of what you're posting.
It can often be a tug-of-war, and the lines can be blurred when you're a solopreneur/coach/speaker, because most of the time, you are your business, and your business is you. Don't get me wrong, I love to see both the personal and business sides of my friends on Facebook, and I love to see personal posts blended in with business. I suggest that clients post and share value-added information about their business on their personal profiles - as long as they''re not selling or using their personal profiles as their businesses; and to integrate a personal touch and a little of their personality from time to time on their business pages. (Where you're eating, which books you love, a little humor, etc.)
But (yes, there is a 'but') even when you are posting things to your personal Facebook profile, as a business owner, you should always be mindful of what you're putting out there in the world. Remember, your branding isn't all about just the look and feel and colors of your website, it's about who you are and how you represent yourself. There are really only a few types of content you should be hesitant to post, and those are the following:
Photos of abuse
This can trigger people who have been in abusive situations. Before you post a photo of a victim of abuse (animal or human), think about your purpose or motivation for putting it out there. Most times, you can simply say a little prayer and just move on without sharing that sort of image. You'll only encourage the abusers and sadden the rest of us by sharing such sensitive posts.
Overly political posts
I'm not saying you can't post anything at all about who you're voting for or what you stand for; but as a business owner, you really should try to keep your political views toned down a bit when sharing on social media. While it's a topic I choose to avoid completely, it's okay to let others know your political stand once in a while. But there's no need to gum up our news feeds with daily tirades about the candidate or party you aren't supporting.
Hoaxes
Not too long ago, Sylvester Stallone was killed by an Internet hoax. The image that was going around announcing his death even had his birth date wrong (that 1969 birth date should have tipped people off.), Stallone's alive and well. Then there's the Facebook privacy hoax about how all of your photos and posts will become public. This one began surfacing around 2012, and it's still going strong. Before you share this type of thing, for Heaven's sake, do a quick Google search to see if it's real.
Click bait
When you see one of those headlines on Facebook that leads to a story that's really sensational - like: "Woman loses cantaloupe in her purse, what happened next will shock you!" That's click bait. You're taken to a website filled with advertisements or a story that really doesn't have anything to do with anything sensational at all. It's annoying as heck, and people don't really like seeing these articles all over their news feeds.
If you're guilty of sharing these types of Facebook posts, we all forgive you, but encourage you not to continue.
Social media is a new frontier. As Oprah Winfrey said, "When we know better, we do better."