![Founder Account vs Brand Account [Mini-Guide]](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,quality=80,format=auto,width=720,onerror=redirect/uploads/asset/file/e877b3c6-b9e0-4a1e-9c0b-a496192dc6db/The__28_.png)
In case you missed last week’s edition, check it out below:
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Ok, now into this week’s edition!
A recurring question that I seem to be getting on a weekly basis is…
“How do I differentiate my personal founder social account vs my company/brand social account?”
It’s actually a really great question.
When you’re just getting started, it can often feel like you’re the Spiderman meme below.
Each account is identical, posting the same content, sounding the same, and no real strategy around differentiating each one.
Let me break it down for how I’d differentiate each account by answering these questions below:
Do you even need to have an active founder account or is the company/brand account enough?
Yes, you need both.
If you are the founder, you should have an active social presence — point blank.
If you’re a marketer, it’s your duty to ensure that your founder understands the value of their social presence.
Here are a few points to help drive this point home:
People want to hear from people, not brands
Founder accounts are easier to build from the ground-up
Founder accounts tend to get higher engagement & reach
Having both accounts active allows you to reach more people
Having both accounts allows you to communicate to your community more effectively (since only a portion of each following will see each organic post)
Should both accounts have the same voice/tone?
No.
Your personal founder account should read and sound like you.
When people see a post from your account, they shouldn’t feel like it’s overly polished or like it was written by AI.
It should feel like you are speaking to them as you would in-person. Slang and lingo is ok to use.
You are a person, not a robot.
Your brand account can and should have qualities that stem from the personalities of the founders but should be differentiated to fit the overall brand, target audience, and niche.
Depending on your situation, this might mean that your brand voice/tone is more professional and has specific qualities like “helpful”, “concise”, and “supportive”.
I’d suggest doing a deep dive with the founder, company leaders, and other team members who know your audience best — in order to come up with what the voice and tone should sound like for the brand.
Should you post the same content on both accounts?
No.
The content can be similar but should be slightly edited to fit the voice, tone, and overall style of each persona.
If you’re posting about a product announcement then maybe you share a behind the scenes look at what went into the building process via your founder account and you do an FAQ on what everyone needs to know via the brand account.
You can also re-share your founder post via the brand account (and vice-versa) to get a nice boost in reach without watering down the content due to duplication.
Should both accounts have the same posting cadence ?
This one is entirely up to you.
But my gut says that your founder account should be much more active than the brand account.
Depending on the social platform, you and get away with posting multiple times per day without making people feel annoyed.
Whereas the brand account might come off as too sales-y if there are multiple promotional posts in a row
Tips on what content to post below.
What type of content should you be sharing on the brand account vs founder account?
Brand Account
Company POV - Where does the company stand in the specific niche or industry? How does it compare to competitors? Why should people pick you or even care about why the company exists?
Macro Progress - An example would be hitting 10,000 users or a major milestone that is related to your specific product. You should be doing this more on your founder account but once in a while it’s ok to share on the brand account so that people have something to cheer for.
Brand Voice & Tone - This should come across in your copy and branding. Keep it consistent over time, even if multiple people have access to the brand account and contribute to your content output.
Company Updates - This includes stuff like standard product updates, raising a round of funding, key executive hires, etc.
Community Spotlight - Highlight your supporters, active users, and people who have been there since day 1. They will feel super special and become even more brand advocates — which is a marketer’s dream come true.
Founder Account
Founder POV - Why did you build this product? What were some of the struggles? Who are you hoping to impact what you’ve built? What are your thoughts on specific industry topics?
Build in Public - What can you share that will inspire or help other builders who look up to you?
Personal Voice & Tone - Your content should sound like you.
Personal Lessons Learned - What have you learned during your journey? This could be related to your company, hiring, product, or more personal like self development, family, etc.
Team Spotlights - You’re the leader on the team that everyone looks up to. Use your social account to celebrate the people at your company who make the dream come true. They will appreciate it and your followers will love it too.
I did a talk on how to build a social presence and covered a bit about how to map out your content strategy, community management, and differentiating brand vs founder accounts.
You can check out the full talk here (or click the image below).
If you’re finding value in this newsletter, I’d really appreciate a share on social!
It goes a long way for me.
Thank you!
Ish
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What I loved this week: