Can’t Anyone ‘Do’ Social Media?
Simple answer, yes. True and realistic answer, no.
Yes, anyone CAN post a picture and write a caption. Anyone can use social media personally. Not everyone can make social media their career.
One of the biggest mistakes companies make is when they think they can simply have an assistant, an intern, or an office manager create and manage their company’s social media platforms. Although the people in those positions could have great personal social media pages on their own, it’s absolutely not the same as professional platforms. Especially when it’s not the same type of content.
On a personal page, you are writing in your own voice, you are trying to come off in your own personality or the persona you wish to create for yourself online. You are not trying to be the “professional,” or the “educator,” or the “warm, welcoming, I’m trying to make a sale without sounding salesy,” you’re just being YOU. Also, that’s fine! That’s the point of a personal social media page, but it’s not the point of a professional one.
A company’s social media pages should be reflective of the mission of the company, the company’s values, their goals, showing you the benefits they can provide you, NOT showing your friends and family how amazing your vacation was or that you got a new puppy.
So, why do companies do this instead of hiring a full-time social media manager? They simply don’t see the value of social media and the work that goes into running professional pages.
If you work in social media or maybe you’re an influencer, you understand the real value and work that goes into running these platforms.
Most companies, especially smaller ones, don’t have the money to run a commercial, have a billboard in Time Square, pay to run ads anywhere online, or get a celebrity endorsement. However, every company can have at least one social media platform.
Social media is the new word of mouth. People follow your company, watch your content, see ads that you can spend much less money on, and much more. Also, the people following and seeing your content aren’t just looking and liking, they’re also sharing with their friends and family! Right there you went from 1 single person to 10 or more knowing about you! THIS is the value! Seeing higher engagement means more people seeing your company, enjoying your content, and telling more people about it.
Expand your reach and spend less.
But, even with all of that being said and those points made, company’s still don’t think that way. Or, you see quite the opposite; they know they need social media and want social media, but they don’t think it takes that much work. That’s the other downfall. That’s why their pages won’t grow.
When you decide not to hire a manager or director to handle your social media, inevitably it’s going to suffer. Why? Because you don’t have someone dedicated to the success and growth of your page. You have someone who’s working a whole separate job and only getting paid for that 1 separate job, so they’re just making sure you’re posting. What does that do for you? Keep it consistent? Sure. But creating quality content, building an audience, strategizing for growth? No.
If another position is handed the project of “creating social media,” they’re only paid for one job but, in reality, working two. When this happens, it is not only devaluing the purpose of social media and the work that goes into that job, but also the person you’re not actually paying to run it. When you have social media, you need strategy, data, research, quality content, creativity, new ideas, and a good writer who not only understands your company, but also your audience.
You wouldn’t slack or devalue any other position or work in your company, so don’t devalue your social media or the one managing it.