Hiring a Social Media Strategist – Essential Skills & Talents
Posted on 12. Oct, 2011 by Lee Odden in Blog, Guest Posts, PRWeb, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Social Media, Vocus
[Note from Lee: TopRank Marketing has been working with PRWeb for nearly 5 years and their Director of Public Relations, Frank Strong (Now serving in Egypt - stay safe!), couldn't say enough good things when they hired a new Social Media Community Manager, Stacey Acevero: Smart, passionate about the industry, highly motivated, sense of humor and a true fan of the brand, Stacey has embraced her role as the social media voice of PRWeb in many ways, from blogging to running #PRWebChat.
Many businesses are investing in their social media expertise by adding Social Media Strategist and Community Manager positions. To get an idea of what skills companies should look for, I asked Stacey to share her first-hand insights with our readers.]
The One Job Your Company Really Needs
Being a community manager is certainly a coveted role in the industry (Read: “I get to sit on Facebook all day!”) but what most don’t realize is how much really goes into the role and the huge benefits to a company it can present. If you’ve been pondering the position and need a place to start in your search for a social strategist or community manager, take it from me:
10 reasons to hire a social strategist and community manager:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’re not on social media, then you’re not where your audience is—and you’re missing out. The social media potential for brands is astonishing, and it includes:
- An endless stream of information and trends that are happening in your industry
- The chance to check out your competitors to evaluate what you are doing right (and potentially wrong)
- The ability to engage one-on-one with your audience and form a more personal connection
- Tracking mentions of your brand online so you can offer customer service through social media and answer inquires (as well as dispel myths)
- Content creation and curation
- Community-building
- Increasing advocates of your brand through word of mouth marketing
- The opportunity to increase trust and credibility with your community
- Social media can be used for sales
- SEO
Characteristics and skills to look for when hiring:
The number-one skill to look for when hiring a social strategist and community manager is a genuine passion for social media. This means that they love to be active on social media and they are always looking for new tools and ways to engage. Experience should not be the number-one factor, because the field is still new! Other factors to look for:
- Are they an early adopter of social media?
- Do they use social media at various times of day (i.e. it’s easy to tweet while you’re at a computer all day at work, but do they tweet on evenings and weekends as well)?
- Do they know how to use social media to its greatest potential (incorporating hashtags, using bit.ly to shorten links, using the thumbnail feature on Facebook to select a proper picture when linking to a post, etc.)?
- Do they have a general understanding and involvement for the industry they want to be a community manager in (whether it is a degree or job experience)? Lots can be learned about the industry through their role as a community manager, and they will learn a lot along the way. That’s why I say a general understanding.
- Do they have a curiosity and willingness to try new tools and platforms? There are so many more platforms out there than just Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. The emergence of new platforms such as Google + and the plethora of niche platforms such as forums creates an endless social media landscape, and they can’t be afraid to delve into those niches to find their audience. In addition, they should demonstrate experience in using new social media tools for integration, time management and organization across platforms (for example TweetDeck, Hootsuite, etc).
Tips on managing your community manager: Give them an outline of duties, let them loose and see how they do with it. Sit with them and run through their duties and point our opportunities they should be harnessing. Also, make sure you have a social media policy in place so they know what language and tone is acceptable. Also, ask them to be creative by writing blog posts and creating simple graphics for your brand. Periodically offering feedback on their posts and nudging them in the right direction is key to keeping them on track. My number-one rule here is to make sure they aren’t just broadcasting, and that they are engaging with the online community. Shouting from a bullhorn won’t get you anywhere.
Primary responsibilities:
- Creating and implementing a social media strategy
- Finding your brands target audience online
- Engaging with the audience and building a tight-knit community (remember: quality, not quantity!)
- Competitive analysis
- Monitoring brand mentions: answer inquiries, provide customer service, dispel brand myths
- Analytics: track month-to-month changes in social media statistics, find causes for rises/plummets and change strategy accordingly
- Reward brand advocates to increase word of mouth marketing
- Create a link between your brands social media presence and sales + customer retention
A social strategist and community manager should be able to integrate and work with other departments in your company, including PR, marketing, HR and sales. The best way to do this is to hold integrated training sessions where each department learns about the social media aspect of the company and works together on messaging and opportunities.
For a snapshot of what the workflow of a community manager should look like, check out my favorite infographic: A Day In the Life of a Social Media Manager
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What the Playground Can Teach you about Social Media
Posted on 01. Jun, 2011 by Stacey Acevero in Blog, Guest Posts, personal branding, PR 2.0, PRWeb, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, social media pr, stacey acevedo, Vocus
Guest post by Stacey Acevero, social media community manager at Vocus and PRWeb.
Integrating social media into your online marketing mix can be a lot like the first day of school. The marketplace, and the playground, is filled to the brim with those both mature and immature, those that are outspoken and shy and each has its very own set of rules.
Remembering that the social world is really a combination of communities and groups who move in ever widening (and connecting) relationship circles, be sure your PR and social media efforts follow the rules that every smart small business marketer needs to know.
1. Make Sure to Make Friends
Go beyond writing a press release, a blog or posting company content into social streams. Rather, start conversations with journalists and target audiences alike by setting aside your personal agenda for a few minutes. Introduce yourself and offer something of value without asking for favors.
Comment on other posts, join conversations and participate in forums to establish your presence. Make positive remarks about content you like and be careful about criticizing content you don’t without spending the appropriate time explaining why and how you might approach it differently.
Be sure to share liberally. Add your thumbs up and positive ratings to let others know you’re interested in what they have to say and you appreciate their expertise and/or point of view.
Being a valued member of the community is key to a long-term, successful social strategy. If you join only to serve your own needs, you might find yourself playing alone.
2. Find Ways to be Resourceful & Creative
On any playground the most fun kids often end up with the most playmates, and oftentimes are the best at drawing a crowd.
Everyone wants to play with the kid that successfully turns the jungle gym into a fortress guarded by a fire-breathing dragon who is protecting a princess. These little social butterflies are also good at letting others play lead roles, like the princess, dragon and ever-handsome knight. What does this sharing of the spotlight create? Relationships!
As you build a following by telling stories, asking questions, offering helpful advice without always asking for something in return – don’t forget about those watching from a distance.
Ask them to participate. Invite readers to comment on your blog or answer a question in Facebook by making it easy for them. Don’t start by forcing them into uncomfortable situations or excluding them. Rather, ask simple questions to help build their confidence, or ask a non-industry related question so they can get their feet wet without fearing that their answers are incorrect.
Polls are a great and easy way to do this, ask a question and offer a few answers. All they have to do is click.
3. Be Ready to Stand up for Yourself
We’ve likely all been the victim of a playground scuffle or two. The important thing to remember is first trying to avoid situations where you or someone else can be the victim of a bully.
But if/when it happens it’s often best if you don’t pretend as though it’s not happening. If others are saying things you don’t agree with OR things about your brand that aren’t true, you don’t have to stay quiet.
You have the right to express your opinion but follow these three rules before you do:
• Think before you speak! Remember that hasty responses rarely come off better than those you spent some time thinking about.
• Consider how your content sounds to people just learning about the conversation. Snotty comments do little to add to your credibility.
• Add “oomph” to your message with facts. This is where you can establish yourself as credible. Offer links/stats from research that supports your position. Other kids on the playground may want to disagree with you but they can’t argue with facts.
• Remember the words “in perpetuity.” Once you hit that post button, your words are available forever for all to see. Be sure your message is one that won’t come back to haunt you for days, weeks or even years in the future.
The good news about joining the social media playground is most of life’s lessons can be applied.
Be a person that plays well with others, pays attention to all and continually uses resources to provide help when it’s needed. Start by leveraging what the playground taught you in your social efforts and you’ll be on your way to being the cool kid.
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