For those who don’t know, I’m starting a new gig soon. As part of that process, I also need to pick a new Twitter name, since @LevelTen_Colin just won’t cut it anymore.
Lessons Learned
Skip to the bottom if you just want to vote!
Over two years ago, when I first created the account the idea was to help create an official presence for LevelTen on social media channels, where there wasn’t one previously. The goals were to increase awareness of the agency locally, as well as provide a valuable source for traffic and fresh links for SEO. At the time, the plan was to maintain two accounts, my personal (@calsheimer) and my professional (@LevelTen_Colin). As the lines between personal & professional blurred, it became more difficult and impractical to maintain the two separately. @calsheimer was thrown by the wayside in favor of the company branded account.
Looking back on that decision today, I readily admit it may have been a mistake. While I believe it helped accomplish the business goals, it did become problematic. Besides the situation I currently find myself in, having my personal brand intertwined with my professional (especially when my primary social handle included the name of the company I worked for) became limiting.
In the future, I’d advocate more for leaving personal social media accounts alone, instead replacing with proper social media training and policy so that employees can become corporate advocates without having to create new accounts.
Choose Wisely
With that lesson learned, it’s time to pick a new account name! I’ve received quite a few suggestions from friends, which I’ve included in the poll below. Which one is your favorite?
