When I worked at FedEx I had lunch with the advertising manager and I asked her what the most difficult part of her job was. She was one of the most successful brand and ad leaders of her generation.
Her answer? “Every employee has an opinion about every ad because they have a TV.”
Social media is the same. Almost everyone now has a social media account — I’m looking at you Mom — and they think that just because they have a facebook account or a twitter account they are experts at “doing social media”.
Wrong.
Just because you have a social media account does not mean that you can run a social media program for an organization.
Just because you have a TV doesn’t mean you are an advertising expert.
Here are some things that I’ve learned while running social media strategy and execution for the past 7 years.
Lesson: Social Media is a 24/7 activity.
If you are going to manage your social media accounts during regular business hours and then “set it and forget it” you are missing out on PRIME TIME social media engagement time.
Case in point. For one of my clients I was on “vacation’ in Florida when I noticed a viral New Year’s Eve post that I thought would work for them. Where was I? I was at Lego Land with my family waiting in line for a ride. What action did I take? I posted that meme on the page for News Years Eve.
The result? The post was the most engaged facebook post during New Years.