Q: Should I have my son/niece/intern run my staffing company’s social media pages?
A: It seems like a great idea. College students understand social networking better than most executives do. So they should have no problem managing your company’s Twitter page, right? The truth is that unless someone has a thorough understanding of marketing, and of your company’s messaging, they should not be responsible for your social media content.
Your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media pages should be an extension of your existing marketing efforts rather than separate from them. The content on those pages should be consistent with all of your marketing messaging. Sure, your college sophomore intern may know how to post a cool-looking infographic on your Facebook page, but does he know enough about your business to answer a specific question posted on that page? Your daughter offered to help you set up your Twitter account while she’s home for winter break, but does she know about the latest industry news that your clients will expect you to tweet about?
If you think it doesn’t matter because your target audiences don’t really use social media anyway, think again. According to Mashable, 90% of recruiters are using social networks to find candidates. More and more candidates are also looking to Facebook and Twitter during their job hunt instead of traditional websites. It’s important that you not only have a presence in those arenas, but that you’re sending the right message to everyone who looks at your social media pages.
Whoever is in charge of maintaining your social media pages should be familiar with your business, your market, and your marketing goals and strategies. He or she should not only know how to use social media, but they should also be responsible enough to avoid making massive brand-damaging mistakes (like this one) on your social media pages.
Whomever you decide to hand the social media reins over to should be equipped with a solid plan for your social media marketing. Such a plan might include:
- Overall tone/personality to be portrayed in social media spaces
- Tweet schedules
- Topics to search and “retweet”
- How to respond to negative comments and reviews (hint: don’t just delete them!)
- Canned responses for the kinds of posts/questions you’re likely to receive
- Guidelines for acceptable pictures and images posted on your pages
- A schedule of posts to be shared with specific groups on LinkedIn
Need help setting up your social media pages, or creating a strong social media marketing plan?
Call Haley Marketing today at 888.696.2900. We’ll be happy to help!
