When I was 18, I picked up and moved all the way from Columbia, South Carolina to Memphis, Tennessee. My parents love to visit and I love to visit them, but they would never move here and I would never move back to our hometown. We don’t love each other any less, but we have different interests and want to live in different places.

It may seem odd to connect this personal anecdote to social media but stay with me. I promise it applies! 

At Campfire Collective, when a company we work with  grows enough to create sub-organizations, we always recommend creating separate social media accounts delineating these new organizations from their parent organizations.. One of our favorite clients falls into this category: Commute Options Memphis is a project of Innovate Memphis. If you search for either of them on a social media platform, you will notice that each organization has its own account. 

You will also notice that Innovate Memphis and Commute Options Memphis share very different content. Innovate Memphis shares a broad range of content covering a wide range of topics, while Commute Options Memphis focuses on transportation. By separating their accounts, each organization is able to  nurture and develop  a distinct follower base. Those who have an interest in alternative means of commuting might follow Commute Options Memphis but not Innovate Memphis. When they happen upon the Commute Options page, the content will grab their attention. 

As part of a larger page, you might be showing too much knowledge (as weird as that sounds!). You want to show that you are an expert in YOUR field, not every field. My dad is a pilot and has an incredible amount of knowledge about flying. That doesn’t mean you should ever put me behind the wheel of a plane (do planes even have steering wheels?). When people realize I am not a reliable source on aviation, they might start questioning whether they should trust me on things I actually do know a lot about.

The moral of this story? Stick to what you know! Social media is an important part of legitimizing who you are and the knowledge base you have. This knowledge base is likely different from that of your parent organization, meaning you need different pages.

There comes a time to break away from your parents because you are headed down different paths. When that time comes, create your own social media pages! Give your parent organization regular shoutouts, but focus your content on what you know best…not what they know best. 

After all, not everyone is meant to fly a plane…