Companies and organizations considering using social media have a few choices.
1. Research everything on their own. Experiment on their own.
2. Find someone to teach them about social media then experiment on their own.
3. Find someone to teach them about social media and to guide them in their use.
4. Hire someone to conduct social media for them (in house or out).
My recommendation? Options 1 through 3. I only recommend Option 4 if you also teach other folks in the organization social media Why? Because each staff person / board member / volunteer knows different details and each has their own network. If you hire someone be sure they are knowledgeable of your field AND enthusiastic about your business (whether its for-profit or non-profit).
Last week I spoke to community development corporations at NeighborWorks Social Media Symposium and to non-profit fundraising staff at the Association of Fundraising Professionals North Central Ohio Chapter's Career Success Institute. Staff was an issue we addressed at both. For the community development folks it was an issue of how do I manage my staff's use of social media and which ones should be using it? For the fundriaising folks it was an issue of how do I get my organization using social media and who should be using it? At the NeighborWorks Social Media Symposium, it was suggested that the community development corporations hire a 20something to manage their social media presence. I would not recommend such as a top choice.
Your existing staff are the folks in the know. They are the folks who can share program details, product details, organizational details. A new person will need to learn all that. I'm not saying its impossible. I am saying consider teaching your existing staff what social media is and how to use it. Consider giving your existing staff the opportunity to experiment. To even, <gasp>, make mistakes.
Having your staff / board members / volunteers use social media on your behalf requires:
1. Social media education. Your folks not using social media at all will feel more comfortable experimenting if they receive initial and ongoing guidance.
2. Social media policy. I recommend experimenting a bit before you create the policy to determine the organization's comfort level and unique challenges and opportunities (every org has unique challenges and opportunities!)
Having your staff / board members / volunteers use social media on your behalf gains you:
1. Reach into each of their networks.
2. A variety of interesting posts and conversations.
3. Staff / board members / volunteers who spend all their waking minutes on social networks. Right? No. This could occur if you do not educate them as to how to focus their efforts and and if you do not engage in open discussion of your social media policy. Which, of course, you would not dream of. Right? Right???
