Who should “do” your social media? A totally general guide

The below are generalizations intended to help small to medium business owners get their feet wet in social media. There are brilliant exceptions to every rule.

You’re convinced. You heard social media marketing will be a $3 billion industry in the next five years. This is where it’s at. You’re all set to jump into a new decade with a totally techno, super digitally online cyber social media strategy, on the internet and everything. You’re going to listen, make friends, strike up conversations, the whole bit.

You look around your organization and wonder “who the heck is going to do our social media”?

There’s no universal right answer, but there’s a right answer for your company, for sure. It depends what you’re going to use social media for, and the answer to that might make the choice of mediator obvious (see “Customer Service). But barring an “everybody lives the brand, tweet as you will” Zappos-style strategy, you’re probably going to have to pick somebody (and if you’re a Tony Hsieh level-thinker, you don’t need to read any farther. Go innovate!).

Let’s start with a job description. What’s this future socializer going to do? They’re going to socialize! Fundamentally they’re going to make friends with other people and seek to help them out with their troubles, sometimes brand-related, and sometimes hopefully not.

Qualities of a successful social butterfly:

1. Their eyes should light up when you mention it.
   Enthusiasm is key, because this is a personality medium and if you force it, it will show.




2. Intelligence & good judgment
   Because social media is both real time and unscripted, there’s a lot of thinking on your feet. Your candidate will need to be sharp enough to seize opportunities and head off disasters. Creativity and inventiveness are necessary to come up with something valuable your audience needs, and to deliver it to them in a clever enough way that they will spread it.




3. Outgoingness
   Is that a word? In any case, being outgoing and having a large exiting personal network can only help your future brand star. That being said, don’t overlook someone who’s more reserved IRL, but has a way with written communication. This whole thing ultimately flows through their fingertips, not their mouths.

Alrighty, so you know what kind of personality you’re looking for. What professional skills might come in handy in this new role of customer BFF? Let’s take a look at the classic silos. Which department owns this outreach, anyway? (I know, I know, Tony. They all do). We’ll pretend your business is large enough to have a few specialized zones. If it isn’t, please select “whoever’s the most into it”.

Departments that might rule at social media:

1. PR/Communications
   This is, after all, a new method of relating to the public. PR professionals have a practiced ability speaking the brand.




2. Customer Service
   If you’re going to use social media to improve your product, service, or reputation, these are the folks who actually solve problems for a living.




3. HR
   If you’re shopping your corporate culture externally or internally, HR are thought leaders in this area.




4. CEO
   Your CEO (who may be you) has a lot to do already, but who speaks with more knowledge or authority about your business? This must only be attempted if the CEO is dang eager to reach out and connect with people, or they’ll run out of time for it.

And those who probably shouldn’t be chatting on your behalf:

1. Hired guns
   They don’t know as much as you, and they don’t care as much as you. You either deal with a sticky approval process that takes the “real” out of “real time”, or you let ‘em run wild and hope for the best.




2. IT
   Conversations are not about the technology through which they take place. If your social pick doesn’t know how to work the tools, rent yourself a social media consultant to come in and show them the ropes. The consultant can also convey the subtleties of networking etiquette.




3. Marketing
   Unless they have to. Marketing can develop the strategy that drives your social media interactions, but this isn’t a platform to shout messages. Advertising in social media is like wearing a sandwich board to a party. That said, these are the creative brains to turn to when you get the dreaded “make it viral” mandate.

Ideally, everyone should be such a great brand ambassador that they could jump in and amuse, inform, and aid any customer out there, but realistically, it’s plenty ok to start small. Go with the best option from the list above, develop goals, a strategy to achieve them, and a way to measure success. Work towards more mutually beneficial relationships with your constituents. You’ll wonder what you ever did before.