3 Tips To Separate Your Public And Private Self Online

Posted on: 13 November 2015

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Many people have become popular on the internet because they have a special skill or share parts of their life with their fans. This creates a unique situation where you and your brand are one in the same. There are ways to keep your fan base while not destroying your private life or creating personal security risks.

Establish Boundaries

Whether you are new to online business or have already developed a following, you need to establish boundaries and enforce them. If you share part of your life through vlogging or taking pictures and you do not want your audience to have a tour of your home or have your significant other broadcasted on your videos, do not allow your audience to persuade you. Not only are you sharing part of your personal life that should remain private, eventually this could cause problems in your personal life.

You never want to appear easily persuaded or manipulated by your audience or sacrifice your personal life for internet fame. If you have children or believe you may want them in the future, you should establish clear and rigid boundaries about broadcasting your children. Not only do you want to protect them, but as your children grow older, they may be resentful that so much of their childhood is part of the public domain and it cannot be undone.

Use Social Media Cautiously

Your social media accounts for your public and personal personas should be separate. It is often easier to merge the two by simply directing certain information at a specific audience. Since you cannot be assured of your privacy online, you should always assume anything you share could be shared with others, hacked or manipulated in some manner. Since you are in the public eye, you should assume you are more of a target for hacking. Insist that friends or family who might take pictures or videos of private events in your life receive your permission before sharing this content on their social media platforms.

If your audience knows you by your real name, you should consider having your personal social media accounts under a pseudonym and not using your real picture. You should make it as difficult as possible for anyone to link your public and private personas. Merging your public and personal life can also cause a problem for your friends and family who may not want attention from strangers. Make sure you are protecting your privacy by ensuring any location information is disabled, especially when you post from mobile devices. Sharing pictures or video from the outside of your residence can also give away too much information and pose a security risk.

Learn Public Relations

As an individual who freely creates content, you may never consider learning more about public relations to improve your persona or become better able to handle problems. Much like large businesses, you need to handle both your public and personal persona in a professional manner to minimize problems. Unless you have built your reputation on controversial issues, sensitive topics are best left for your close friends and family. Generating heated discussions and backlash can garner the wrong types of attention.

You should also have a strategy of handling offensive comments from your audience or trolls. Although arguing with people is tempting, it strays away from your objective and can reflect negatively on you and your brand. As an online personality, part of your income probably comes from sponsorship opportunities with companies. You never want to lose an opportunity because of a lapse in judgement.

When you have an internet following, you are in a unique situation and need to invest more time and effort into protecting your personal life and online reputation. Additionally, find ways to create distinct boundaries between your business and personal life to improve your personal security.

If you feel that separating your personal and public life on social media could be too much of a challenge for you, you can invest in a social media management service. Contact a professional business, such as eClincher, and discuss what options they offer and see if it is a right fit for you.