Work and personal life: Is it possible to maintain balance in social networks?

A recent report by Hiscox points out that only 13% of small business owners maintain a differentiated activity and presence between their work and their personal lives in the media and social networks.

Who has not sent a tweet during dinner, or checked Facebook on a Sunday? We all do it, and the social media have become partly, a small addiction, for some more than for others, it is clear, but most of us fall into this “new vice”.

For the small businessman it is sometimes even more difficult to disconnect. Only 5% of owners of a small or medium-sized company said they did not work during weekends, and a much smaller percentage said they had banned the use of their smartphones during dinner or their stay in the bedroom.

Kevin Kerridge, Hiscox’s SME expert notes that starting a small business requires a high level of commitment. For many, the brand is their life, so it does not make sense to divide this presence and use a double presence in these media. Facebook obliges to have profiles to people, and pages to companies, but for many professionals or freelancers, the business turns out to be an integral part of the person.

The real question is how to use social media. Studies have shown that followers enjoy personal information interspersed with updates of the company and its products, but we can not mix in them our family problems, health problems or our opinions on politics and religion, although this is also not advisable in our personal accounts.

The problem of having separate personal and professional accounts is that, although we do not realize, both represent our business. If we own a SME, we have our own brand and that will be the case 24 hours a day, seven days a week and every day of the year. We may be able to balance work and family life in the real world, but in the virtual world it is not so simple. Our clients and professional contacts will always be watching us.

Do you think it is possible to achieve balance?