Okay, so this is going to be kind of a rant… You have been warned.
I have this moment of disbelief when someone tells me that they know someone who would be perfect at “doing social media as a job.” The statement is usually followed by an explanation that this person is on all the networks, spends a lot of time on them, has a lot of friends, and “knows what they’re doing.”
The disbelief is followed by a burst of amusement. This is the equivalent of saying that someone is qualified to drive in Nascar because they have a long daily commute. They spend a lot of time doing it, so they must be ready to do it professionally.
::notice the sarcasm?::
In my world, social media is a business. We apply marketing and communications principles to the messaging. Posts are tactics, and they usually have a goal of some sort. And the goal has a KPI of some sort. Yes, we measure. We measure a lot. We measure on schedule, and learn from the results. And make improvements.
All of this requires some knowledge of how social media works, and how it impacts your business’ bottom line. And this is true if your business is a non-profit, a food truck, a school, a freelancing business, or even a blog.
What makes you think you can do my job? What makes you think that my job is so mind-numbingly easy that anyone can come in and just do it, without any training of any kind? What makes you think you have the knowledge and insight to tell me that I’m doing the job wrong.
In my world, social media is a business. So let’s treat it as such.
image source: Nemo / Pixabay
