Below are excerpts from this article from Inc. Please see the full article for details.
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Sure, she understands Instagram. But do you really want a new grad controlling your brand online?
Pardon the generalization: I don’t mean to attack 23-year-olds specifically. Nor do I believe there are no young people capable of managing a business’s social-media responsibilities.
I am, however, trying to make a point: Just because you don’t understand social media doesn’t mean you should forfeit all common sense and hire your niece, nephew, or any other other recent college grad (say, your best friend’s sister-in-law’s kid) because “they’re really good on Facebook.”
If your business targets the young and hip, most definitely look to a recent grad or young social-media nerd to help your business. But don’t assume, either, that you need to hire someone young to manage your social media “just because.”
Frankly, this kind of logic makes me crazy–and yet I’m seeing it more and more these days. But you really shouldn’t be entrusting your entire social-media efforts to a newly graduated intern. Here’s why. [below is a shortened list; the article contains details for each item]
1. They’re not mature enough.
2. They may be focused on their own social-media activity.
3. They may not have the same etiquette–or experience.
4. You can’t control their friends.
5. No class can replace on-the-job training.
6. They may not understand your business.
7. Communication skills are critical.
8. Humor is tricky business.
9. Social-media savvy is not the same as technical savvy.
10. Social-media management can become crisis management.
11. You need to keep the keys.
Social media is not the be-all and end-all. It’s a marketing tool–part of an ever-growing arsenal of ways to bring your company to your prospective customers’ attention.
Thinking of it this way, you will perhaps slow down and consider more closely whom you’re hiring–and why.
