I see it every day. An organization doesn’t know what to do for social media. They probably see how successful all those influencers are with a personality-first social media strategy. So they hire someone who is either an influencer or a wanna-be influencer and they get all the personality. Maybe some vanity metrics are soaring. Maybe one or two more items are sold. Or maybe none of this information is being reported. Who knows?

But the chances are good that the social media aligns more with what the audience wants and/or what will make the influencer more famous. And at some point, your organization and its goals will be left behind.

So what exactly is personality-first social media? And why is it not a great fit for most organizations? Let’s talk about it.

What is personality-first social media?

Personality-first social media focuses more on the individual who is running the account. They act as a host and/or a newscaster. Your fans know their name and have connected them to your organization.

The organization’s social media is heavy on Reels and TikToks. It may even be rare if they post anything else. And the individual is in front of the camera in the majority of these posts. They are more likely to jump on every social media trends, so you’re more likely to see the latest dance craze or a trending audio. In fact, trends tend to drive the social media posts.

A lot of this is something you just know when you see it. Whereas it’s normal to have faces on social media, it becomes something different when it’s mostly just the one face. Whereas it’s okay to have lots of videos, it becomes different when the content is mostly videos. And so on and so on.

Don’t you want lots of videos?

The social media algorithm LOVES video. A video rich social media strategy is super healthy, but…

Your audience had all kinds of different needs when it comes to taking in the information you need to serve them. Some people need to read it. Some need to hear it. And others need to see it illustrated. If you were to lean into what the social media algorithms want you to do, you will not get the information to all of your fans in the way they can most easily consume it. So if you have something you need them to remember and pass on, it’s really important that you serve it in multiple different formats.

Shouldn’t your social media manager have a relationship with fans?

The short answer is that they shouldn’t. The long answer is that it’s complicated.

If your organization’s fans have a relationship with the personality behind the account rather than the organization itself, then what happens when that personality leaves? Burnout happens often in the nonprofit world and it’s even worse for those who work in nonprofit social media. And the pay is not usually great. Even the most passionate social media manager can easily have their head turned by an unexpected job offer. The chances are high that even a new social media hire will leave you sooner rather than later. I’m not saying to plan on them leaving. But I am saying to not hand over your organization’s relationship with then audience to an individual who may not be there next year.

On the other hand, your social media manager should know some of the individuals who make up your audience inside and out. And they should be pursuing relationships with them, but as the organization. Yes, of course this would be faster if there were a face put to the organization. But it’s more important to build long-lasting relationships that can move with the organization as employees come and go.

Don’t trends help get eyes on your social media?

Trends can serve a great purpose for your social media. If you jump on the trend super early, you can look like a trendsetter. If you can bring something original to the trend, you can look innovative. That is underlined when you are super choosy about what trends you participate in. And that’s what you want right?

But when you jump on every single trend without much thought, you’re chasing trends, not business objectives. Do you really think that will move your organization forward?

When you are jumping on a trend late and don’t try to tie it to your organization at all, you are posting the same thing as everyone else on social media. Will your fans really like it and engage with it after they’ve seen it a hundred times? Not likely. They’ve already moved onto something else. So it’s more like background noise than anything. Your organization should not be background noise. You should be creating content that stands out and connects with your audience. This is not that. This is following the crowd in the hopes you get a little bit of sunshine. You won’t.

So my account shouldn’t have any personality?

Somehow when I rant about this, I always end up getting this question and it just makes me sigh.

Your organization should have personality. It should be a personality based on who your audience is, not based on one individual who happens to be running the account at the time. Otherwise, that personality will keep changing, and it will be confusing to your audience.

But having a standard personality that grows and changes with the organization and represents who the audience is? It is so much more natural and creates those relationships that will make business happen.

Is your organization doing personality-first social media? How is it working for you?