Social media management – not a role for the faint of heart — goes beyond just a job. It’s a lifestyle. Sadly, many small business owners think social media strategy development encompasses sending out 3 tweets every day, a few retweets and WHAM…a million widgets sold! Oh, how they fail to understand the true role of a social media strategist worth and how they are their weight in gold.
A true and competent social media manager isn’t hard to spot…it’s in the details of his or her lifestyle. As Sipsey from the movie Fried Green Tomatoes said “Secret’s in the Sauce,” and that applies to social media as well. Each business, brand, or company’s individual mission requires a different strategy, but once you have the correct strategy in place, the success depends on having the right cook in the kitchen mixing the sauce. Who is mixing up your social cocktail and serving it up to the public?
Check out the 5 lifestyle traits of the best social media marketing mixologists!
(1) They are so passionate about you and your brand that they come across as a 16-year-old girl making out with Justin Beiber on their Ipad. Who doesn’t love a new client, but if your social media manager passion doesn’t run deep for your brand then they just aren’t going to be able to sell it in the Twitterverse. We love our client’s products so much that we don’t stop talking about their services online. No, we talk offline to friends, prospects and relationships about the difference our clients are making in their community. It is easier to be a fantastic fit as a social media mixologist if you have the heart of the product/service because everyone loves to by from the most passionate personality in the room!
(2) They have obsessive- compulsive issues. Do you get emails from your social media marketing agency with articles published in the Wall Street Journal about your particular industry? Are they letting you know when they see your brand in the stores and how the display looks? Your social media manager is YOU…just in a 6-foot blonde body (we are assuming one of our three blondes is at the wheel). If your social media manager keeps your business top mind then I can guarantee their goal is to see you succeed.
(3) They may have a bad case of what seems like narcolepsy . Social media goes beyond an 8 hour work day, a bit like being a parent as it is 24 hours a day and requires a significant amount of scrutiny. Every tweet, every Facebook post, every questions requires an immediate response. Honestly, social media managers don’t sleep much because they are either furiously tweeting on your behalf or reading industry news about the latest trends in social media. The digital marketing industry continues to evolve as fast as the Kardashian family sells their souls to the devil to make a buck. This rapidly changing landscape requires countless hours of reading industry news and articles to keep up. So when they finally fall asleep it happens mid-sentence, mouth wide open, while on the phone with their mother or significant other. Please, no judgi…..zzzzzzzzzz.
(4) Psychotic about people touching their phones. Many, unclear about the life of the SoMe manager, sustain injuries when trying to snatch their phones or iPads. These so-called “friends” (because real friends understand the sacredness of the iPad and other devices) should know better than to touch the electronic belongings of the social media manager. Consider it fair warning to those who believe in “stepping away from technology”. These devices represent the core of proper social media account management.
(5) They really think they are at a true southern cotillion (the southern ones do, at least). Social media marketers exist in a world much like the south. They thrive on the acceptance of their peers, but in the case of social engagement — a strategic art – people scrutinize whom you engage with in the socialverse. My mother always said, “Don’t walk down the street with someone you wouldn’t marry,” a slogan that also rings true in social media circles. Remain exceptionally social…heck, talk to the wall even if it doesn’t talk back, but be careful of your associations. You never want to be associated with bullies or individuals of questionable character.
