Social Media Monday—5 Simple Things You can do to Keep Your Social Media Identity Consistent

by Edie Melson

As writers in today’s digital world, we all know the importance of having an online presence. The savvy writer works hard to leverage social media to do everything from building a platform to interacting with readers.
Even armed with the knowledge of how important engaging online is, many authors have missed one vital component. 
Consistency. 
So today I’m sharing 5 simple things you can to do keep your social media identity consistent. Does it really matter that I seem like one person on Facebook and another on Twitter? To a certain degree, it definitely does. While interaction styles do vary from network to network, our audience will still expect us to be recognizable. Think about it from this perspective. Do you really trust someone who is drastically different from situation to situation? I don’t. The same thing holds true with your social media personality. It needs to ring true, no matter where you audience finds you.
So now we know that we need to have a certain level of consistency, what exactly does that entail. Here’s my list of 5 things that will help you build the trust of your audience, while still interacting normally on a given network.
1. Keep your profile photo consistent. It doesn’t have to be the exact same picture, but it better be pretty close. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to find someone on Twitter by looking at their Facebook photo as a reference and missing them entirely. I have several different photos I use for profile pictures. They were all taken around the same time and are a large enough shot of my face, that people can tell who I am.
2. Write your updates like you talk. If you’re trying to be something you’re not, or present yourself in a way that’s not natural, it will show.
3. Be consistent with how often you post updates. Today’s audience has a short attention span and even shorter memory. To build a consistent picture of yourself online, you have to be online often enough for people to remember you. What does consistent look like? It varies from person to person, but I would say, at least a couple of updates a day, per network, four or five times a week. This is different from growing your platform, this is just to remain in the short term memory of your audience.
4. Don’t change the basis of your message from network to network.For example, if your online identity is built on being a YA author on Twitter, don’t make narrative nonfiction the basis of your posts on Facebook. Let the independent networks work together to paint a more complete picture of who you are. Don’t be an alligator on one and a fuzzy bunny on another.
5. Keep your online information current. If you update your Facebook bio because you’ve signed a new contract, don’t neglect your Twitter or LinkedIn bio.
These are some of the more obvious irritants that can stand between you and social media consistency. They also happen to be some of my pet peeves, and things I’ve been guilty of. Learn from my mistakes.
What about you? What inconsistencies have you seen online? Be sure to share your thoughts below.
Don’t forget to join the conversation!Blessings,Edie
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5 Simple Things You can do to Keep Your #SocialMediaIdentity Consistent – via  @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)