Since I launched The Bassline Group 4 years ago, I’ve been quite indecisive on whether or not I should combine the Bassline brand with my personal brand. I mean, I was offering the same exact services and found myself sharing the same content on both across their social media accounts.
I have combined them, separated them, then combined them again within that time frame. It wasn’t until 2016, when I became a brand ambassador for my favorite shoe brand, LUGZ, and a college instructor at SAE Institute, that I decided to separate them and KEEP THEM SEPARATED.
While scrolling social media, I started to see many others struggle with the same thing; deciding on whether or not they should combine or keep separate accounts for their personal lives and their business. There are pros and cons to both, so there’s no right or wrong way to go about it. But I did ask myself one question that helped me make my decision:
Who Is Your Audience?
When I started The Bassline Group, I became The Bassline Group. Even though I had an established personal brand of 6 years at that time, I felt I had to become the new brand in order for it to grow.
And my God, it did!
After switching gears, I was able to earn enough money to quit my full-time job and become fully self-employed. Then later, I was able to check off an item on my bucket list when I was offered a part-time music business teaching position. This couldn’t have happened if I didn’t eat, sleep, and poop that new brand.
Bassline = Patrice
After awhile, I started receiving more inquiries from people who were not in the music industry. I’ve worked with a local union that represented Amtrak employees, a business referral service, filmmakers, fashion brands, and many others. At that point, I knew that it was time for another change, but this time, it had to be long-term because my reputation grew beyond just music.
When people ask me if they should separate their accounts, the first thing I ask is if they serve different audiences. My personal brand served many industries and attracted those that knew my personally, whereas Bassline attracted a more music/creative audience. I had even gotten private messages where people voiced their concern with me sharing Bassline/music related content all the time on my personal account.
So, I separated my Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and never looked back.
Now, I share my work with LUGZ, SAE Institute, other brands I work with, my personal taste in music and movies, events I attend, my significant other (occasionally, not often), and even my cat….all from my personal accounts. And I keep The Bassline Group for music and client related news and content.
Sure, there will be some overlap where I will share Bassline content on my personal, but the thing is that I give my audience a variety so that they get a sense of who I am. I’m more than just my business and people like to connect and do business with other people, not logos.
Will it effect the networks’ algorithm in that they will rank my personal accounts higher than my business accounts?
I’m sure it will as my personal accounts will naturally receive more traffic and engagement because I’m posting a more variety of content. But see, I choose not to worry about things that are out of my control. I can’t control these social platforms and how they choose to rank our posts. What I can control is my narrative and my content, which effects my audience. In marketing, your audience dictates your strategy. Not these networks or anyone else for that matter.