The Power of Positivity – Finding your Voice on Social Media

During these strange times, I’ve seen my LinkedIn connections, friends and colleagues posting very different posts to those that they would normally.

The same absolutely applies to companies.

Finding your voice on social media is not something I had ever really thought of before, I believe being natural, writing from the heart and being informative is key, but over the last few months, this has proved more challenging. I want to ensure that what I’m sharing is really relevant and informative, whilst being conscious to not upset or offend anyone.

A colleague told me a story early on in the pandemic about an update she had shared regarding social distancing, warning again about making sure you adhere to the rules and discussing a rise in cases if you don’t, this was not received well by a few of her friends/connections, they saw it as scaremongering and made them more afraid to go out, this was actually the point of the post, but obviously didn’t hit home in the way it was intended.

Clearly it isn’t possible to ‘please’ everyone, as the poet John Lydgate and later as was adapted by President Lincoln said:

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time” 

People perceive things in very different ways dependant on their own mood at that time, which has made me even more aware of how I position myself.

‘The Voice’ I have landed on is that of positivity.

It is well known that being Positive is good for your mental wellbeing, it actually helps with stress management, it makes you happier and improves your motivation, all things that right now, more than ever we need to be focusing on, and in addition to this it helps with your coping skills, again something so important right now, and it helps you see the positives in other people,

The most used engagement activity people on LinkedIn and most other social media platforms use is to ‘like’ posts, a negative post can’t be liked. As any manager who has ever been on a management course or read a management book will know, the best approach is to look for solutions, not problems, so if you can’t avoid negative posts turn them into a debate or suggest in your update a solution, ask for ideas on how to find a solution from the situation businesses find themselves in. Unfortunately, right now we can’t find the ultimate solution, but small suggestions can go a long way to help people.

My LinkedIn feed https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashajameshr/  is now full of good news stories, on a daily basis I share positive news from the regions I focus on, Yorkshire and the North West. I am sharing successes from my colleagues on placements they have made and jobs they are recruiting for, the fact companies are still recruiting during these troubled times is definitely good news worth sharing.

Positivity is the narrative running through my online presence, I would be delighted to share any positive stories you have, any good news about you or your colleagues, let’s celebrate successes.

I would also happily share my knowledge of Social Media if you are growing a brand, whether it be your personal brand or that of your company I would be happy to help. Right now we appreciate not everyone is recruiting so where Ashley Kate HR & Finance can offer our expertise in other areas, obviously at no cost to you, we are very happy to.

At times like these #BeKind is as relevant as ever.

Natasha James Murphy is a Senior HR Recruitment Consultant who supports HR Professionals and businesses in the  North West & Yorkshire region. Natasha has been with Ashley Kate HR & Finance since 2014 and has established a strong network in the HR Community.  To find out more about Natasha and how she can support you, email: natasha.murphy@ashleykatehr.com or connect with Natasha on Linkedin