How to make your social media presence more personal

There are two important considerations for an ecommerce social media marketing campaign: ROI and audience reaction.

As a result, many business owners tend to play it safe on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other services. To get the most out of your social media presence, you may want to get personal and public.

Why personalized social media can be so effective

Believe it or not, a large number of influential CEOs of public companies maintain a public persona online. Take Virgin Group founder, Richard Branson, for example. He constantly updates his Facebook page with details about his life as well as important news about the companies and organizations he is associated with. T-Mobile U.S. President and CEO John Legere is another high-profile figure who is quite active online.

Sharing personal details can be good for your business because it helps you level with customers and show a little bit of the face behind the operations. Your life may or may not be quite as exciting as Branson's, but there are still many areas you can look to for inspiration for your next Facebook post:

• Travel

• Food

• Personal feelings and thoughts on topics of debate

• Stories

• Family

• Music, movie and television recommendations

You may be more comfortable with one topic than another, and that's perfectly fine. Stick to subjects you know well and feel comfortable discussing.

Settle on a service

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Linkedin represent just a handful of possible social media platforms at your disposal. However, it's best to limit your strategy to a few outlets because it can get overwhelming to constantly update every profile. You may find that one particular service is better suited for your business than others. Do you run a clothing store? If so, sign up for Instagram to share photographs of new items.

It can get overwhelming to constantly update every profile you have. Once you determine which social media channels to use, look into linking your accounts; for instance, Instagram allows users to post photographs to connected Facebook accounts. This way, every new photograph is seen in two locations with half the effort.

Decide what to share

Although sharing personal details is becoming more of a trend, that doesn't mean you have to share everything. If you don't feel comfortable sharing family photographs or personal beliefs, it's OK. Instead, you will want to create a list of topics you are comfortable talking about. As long as you can showcase your personality, you are putting a face to social media.

Social media is a powerful tool for any business. If you are in need of content and want to increase outreach efforts, look into getting more personal with your accounts.