To share, or not to share, that is the question. Your employer may ask you to like and share their social media content. You want to be a team player, but how do you make sure that you don’t drive your friends away by filling your feed with work-related content? After all, how will people see your darling baby or pet photos if your feed is clogged with content from your company? Here are a few items to consider that will help you strike a balance and keep your feed personal, while also making sure you help out your company by sharing their content:

Consider the Platform

Different platforms react to liking and sharing content in different ways. If you want to be active in engaging with company content, but don’t want it to necessarily take over your feed, Instagram is a good way to go. Likes and shares on Facebook and Twitter show up in both you and your friend’s feeds, but doing so in Instagram does not. LinkedIn is another great place to like and share because it is made for professional content and networking, so your followers expect to see professional content in their feeds. Because of this, your followers may be more willing to take a deeper dive into the content on LinkedIn than they would on other platforms.

Does It Give Your Followers a Better Knowledge of What You Do?

Your friends want to know about you, and what you do at work is a big part of who you are. If, when sharing content, you can show how what you did impacted it, your followers will appreciate your work post. A related benefit is that it may pique the interest of a friend looking for a new opportunity, which may lead to a referral bonus, which many companies now offer.

How Important Is the Post to Your Employer

Your company’s social media team will publish all types of content, and while any liking and sharing is appreciated, there is some content that the company would really like you to share. Posts that include big company news like honors, milestones, product launches, branding initiatives, and important information, are typically a priority, as they can directly help the business. Incidentally, these might also be the posts that your followers will find most interesting since they paint a picture of the type of company you work for.

Does It Increase Your Professional Brand?

Liking and sharing content can help increase your personal brand, both in and out of the office. Being a team player is always a nice badge to have around the office, and while they may not officially be keeping track of who likes and shares content, people do tend to notice if you regularly do. Sharing the right content can also help brand you as a Subject Matter Expert, and come in handy when you are looking to take your next career step.