Finding the Balance with Social Media

As an artist, when I create, I put a lot of myself into the creation. I focus on concepts, topics and subjects that mean something to me personally. This in turn, I hope, resonates into something that is genuine and sincere. I take this same approach with my business and the vision that is Palisade Posh. One of my goals for the company is to inspire people, especially women of a certain age, that no matter where they are in their life journey it is never too late to start a new chapter, to go for your dreams and to create your own vision of what is possible. To do that, I need to include a level of “personal” in my social media posts and what I choose to include and not include. The personal is what humanizes what I share and makes it relatable.

But finding that balance between what is considered business and personal can sometimes be a challenge as I learned recently. That said, every challenge opens the door to opportunity. In this case, opportunities to learn what to post and not to post and reflect on why one (in this case me) opts to post on social media.

Why do I post? Because I want to share with my followers and dare I say (with a level of humility) with the world what is possible if you only allow yourself to pursue your dreams, no matter how unattainable they might feel from time to time.

So, then the next question is what to share and what not? First and foremost, other people’s personal, is not your personal and what might seem like an innocent post to you might not be to others. The lesson here is to ask permission, sounds like a no brainer and it truth it is, but when you are excited to share something, it is also easy to forget. This is why, I’ve recently dialed back what I have been posting and why I’ve restructured the avenues on which I post.

I have also, with the assistance of my family and occasionally a friend or two, been doing more of a deep dive into understanding social media and how it works. I’m still not overly savvy with technology. However, I do know enough to recognize its marketing potential. While I work to understand the technology, Andy has crafted me a checklist I am now using when I post. It’s been incredibly helpful and his skill and knowledge with technology is an inspiration to me; truly the man is a genius! 

Here are a few of the checks I use to find the balance between posting business verses personal that allow me to keep the humanity within what I share with you:

·      Core pillar of alignment (the why?)

·      Tone of voice & copywriting check

·      Visual & Aesthetic Standards

·      The Final Go/No-Go Test

Each of these 4 bullet points then go into further checks and balances to address the personal verses the business. As Palisade Posh is about many things including hospitality some things that might appear as personal initially, speak to the hospitality that Palisade has to offer such. While much of my social media focuses on all that I do on the farm, gardening, creating art, building out the vision, I think it is also important to include an occasional human factor, enjoying my morning coffee, sharing a glass of wine with Andy or hosting friends for a ‘unique’ game of backyard Bocce Ball with my beloved springer spaniel, Daisy. While personal on one level, they also highlight my approachability, and the beauty and natural surroundings of the Grand Valley. This helps to promote and humanize the joyful moments that can be experienced on the farm as a guest as well as what Palisade and the surrounding area has to offer. It’s a fine line and truly is a balancing act but when it comes to promoting Palisade and inspiring people to pursue a new life filled with a world of possibilities, the later only being limited by what you can imagine, it a balancing act worth taking on. I know I still have much to learn about this kind of technology and I’m sure I will continue to make mistakes from time to time but mistakes are an opportunity to learn, if nothing else… what not to do next time! Social media can be many things… for me it is a window to share what is possible!