Should you link your social media presence to your employer?

Associating your social media profile with your company may seem like a win/win strategy. Doing so can boost your personal brand, and it could offer similar advantages to your company. But there are important questions for both you and your employer to consider first.

The advantages

Linking yourself with your employer on social media can enhance your personal brand, validate your expertise, and attract people to follow and interact with you.

Your company can also benefit from having employee advocates who are active on social media as thought leaders. Naming or tagging the employees who handle social channels humanizes a brand, makes the company’s communications seem more genuine, and boosts good will.

Potential cons

The above sounds good for you and your company, right? Before you jump in, though, there are two important questions to consider:

1. Who owns your linked social media activity?

It may seem obvious that social profiles made for the brand remain the property of the company, whereas personal profiles created by an employee belong to the individual. Ownership gets trickier when personal and employer profiles are blended.