Imagine a management meeting…
“Hey guys, we need to be modern, digital and forward thinking – let’s set up accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, then we can put whizzy icons on our website and look like we’re really up to date!”
“Great idea, let’s totally do that! Who’s going to run the accounts?”
“Oh, we’ll get one of the admin staff to ask if people had a nice weekend and put up the odd picture of our charity day golf. That should cover it.”
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not just the fevered imagination of a grumpy freelancer, there really are companies that take this approach to social media. Create accounts and dump them on a junior member of staff. No thought for creating quality content, no clue about how to develop the account organically (buying followers is for cheats and losers) and no idea how to actually use the account to benefit the business. It’s not fair on the junior staffer who ends up saddled with the job either. If you’re really lucky they’ll have the skills to make a go of it, but can they handle things when the shit hits the fan and will you back them if they make a mistake? But hey, at least you can say you ‘do’ social…
Going social is a big decision for any company, which is why it pays to have external help. A good consultant will help you decide which platforms to use, what tone to take, how to create good quality content and how to deal with problems. A really good one becomes part of the team, working with all your staff to find news, content and ideas, not to mention connecting with your other marketing and promo activity. It’s never just a question of handing over £XXX per month to keep your social media out of sight and out of mind.
Without proper thought and planning, social media is nothing more than a figleaf.
Well Chuffed Comms 