Sometimes, after years now of working in social media, I feel like a no man. It’s not that I find joy in pushing back and saying no, but all too often social media is a catchall. And as someone who believes in understanding your why, I’m not afraid to pushback when things don’t align.
I get it. It wasn’t that long ago that social media in companies was a little rogue. People were still trying to figure out what this new medium meant for the organization. All internal requests happened because a young intern handled the social media accounts. Things are changing though.
Companies have started to build a strong foundation of what it means for their brand, goals and organization. And while social media will always evolve, we now know the power of social, what works and what doesn’t. As foundations and strategies are built, it means things won’t be the way they always were. With frameworks comes education, pushing back and standing your ground as a keeper of the accounts.
Internal partners have to understand that just because it’s easy to upload a piece of content and hit send, doesn’t mean it belongs on social media. As companies define their why on the platforms and take a consumer-first approach, there will be pushback. Otherwise, social media presences would just turn into a load of crap (I know, that’s not very articulate).
Yes, I’m saying that hearing “no” can be a good thing. Social media isn’t this free platform for us as marketers and brands to push anything and everything to our consumer. As the noise continues to grow online and consumers turn off more and more, we have to be thoughtful in how we approach things. Every organization needs a team of people who have outlined that why online and protects it.
Social media has evolved. It’s matured. We now know that’s not a silly marketing channel for interns to run, but the front door to our brand and a strong, direct connection to our consumer. A social media manager’s job is to understand how social aligns with organizational goals, protect the platforms and think about the consumer. That means that not everything belongs on the platforms and that’s okay. Just because social media is more accessible, doesn’t mean we should abuse the access and treat it lightly. We wouldn’t slap anything and everything on a billboard, so why should we do it on social?
This is the bottom line: If your social media manager says “no” sometimes, they’re doing their job. They know the goals, they know what works and they know the community they’ve built. When you hire good people, let them do their job. Trust their gut and know they’ve got the best intentions in mind. Not everything belongs on social, period.
