Personal Privacy as a Public Figure
Privacy is Dead.
Because of social media, maintaining a real division between what’s personal, professional, and private is impossible.
While I’d never want to put you or your family in danger, I’d recommend ONE profile on each social network. It makes your social media easier to manage and grow.
With your ONE official account, customize the privacy settings to reflect your comfort zone. Block, mute, and report others when you run into issues… but keep things as simple as possible!
Do NOT separate your personal life from your professional career. You may be tempted to create two accounts on the same platform? What ends up happening is you divide your audience and double your work load!
On Facebook, streamlining is difficult. You may have a fan page (with “likes”) and personal profile (with “friends”). However, until you’re getting tagged in major press and projects, it may be better to “unpublish” your fan page and grow one-way “followers” on your personal profile. You can read my thoughts on the differences between the two here.
Be a public figure!
In every industry, we hire the people we know, like, and trust. In terms of setting up accounts and sharing content, remember:
“Personal is professional.Â
Professional is personal.Â
NOTHING ONLINE IS PRIVATE!”
Especially for artists, your fans, creative teams, and casting directors are searching for you on social media.
That vacation photo in your bathing suit? It shows your instrument.
Personal photos with friends? They show how you might behave in company housing.
Behind-the-scenes and throwback photos? They prove you’re a pro!
Truth is… you need all of that. It helps tell the truth. Your truth.
Curated Publicity + Privacy
If you want your online presence to generate offline results, you have to take full control of what’s out there. What you post (and what others tag you in) is very important. It’s going out to hundreds and thousands of people!
How do you want to be seen? Start shaping your image with each post. Be sure to stay positive. Consider that your online presence is your first impression and permanent digital legacy.
I’m not suggesting you scrub your social media or become sterile in your posting. I’m recommending being as public with your personal life as you’re comfortable. Transparency and authenticity are in! We all want to know the real you. Stay transparent—yet conscious and strategic—with your daily life. Let us meet your heart and soul, your full self, the human behind that headshot.
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