{"id":8083,"date":"2010-09-17T13:36:07","date_gmt":"2010-09-17T12:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?p=8083"},"modified":"2014-02-25T13:11:18","modified_gmt":"2014-02-25T13:11:18","slug":"internet-marketing-why-your-social-media-person-should-be-a-trained-spokesperson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/webmasters\/internet-marketing-why-your-social-media-person-should-be-a-trained-spokesperson\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet Marketing: Why Your Social Media Person Should be a Trained Spokesperson"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Ain\u2019t Child\u2019s Play Anymore Folks! <\/strong><\/p>\n

Guest Post by Richard Harmer Brady Media Group<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Here\u2019s the deal, companies develop personalities just like people. Since this is football season and I\u2019m a big football fan, lets take NFL football teams as an example. Go COWBOYS!! Just sayin\u2026 So Anyway\u2026 Each team has a personality and most owners recognize this. You can even look to the owners to see the personality type. <\/p>\n

The teams are careful on who they draft to fit the chemistry of their current team and image. Think about the Pittsburg Steelers, blue collar town, blue collar team\u2026blue collar quarterback. Green Bay Packers, same thing, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys, more white collar teams, Tom Brady and Tony Romo are for the most part white collar quarterbacks. There are plenty of examples! However, this isn\u2019t ALWAYS the case, but the ones that see it and get it, use it and succeed. Look at the teams I just named\u2026very successful \u201ccompanies\u201d. They just happen to be NFL Football teams. <\/p>\n

So what does this have to do with social media? Plain and simple the social media person needs to \u201cfit\u201d the role of the company, naturally. In other words, they need to have good chemistry with the rest of the \u201cteam\u201d. They are on the front lines and interact directly with the audience. I\u2019m not one to say HOW they should act, but the authenticity of that person should come across in HOW they interact with the audience. <\/p>\n

In my opinion, the larger the company the more important this may be. Look at Scott Monty \u2014 The Ford Social Media Guy. He \u201cfits\u201d the role to a \u201cT\u201d and has been amazingly successful. He\u2019s not an uptight \u201csuit\u201d, but he\u2019s not a college kid either. He dresses casual with a polo shirt or jacket without a tie, though he can be goofy sometimes, but he\u2019s himself! In fact this is on his blog if you read it \u2014 \u201cHi, I’m Scott. I’m the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media – the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web – for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views.\u201d <\/p>\n

He says \u201cpersonal views\u201d \u2014 In other words, he\u2019s saying look, I\u2019m going to be myself. But notice how he still FITS the role of a Ford personality and the image for the most part. He fits the current messaging and perception that Ford is trying to convey. Weather he knows it or not, he is a \u201cspokesperson\u201d. He\u2019s a spokesperson that directly interacts with the audience. To me, the role of the social media person will become more of a \u201cspokesperson\u201d role, especially with larger companies. He basically get\u2019s paid to hangout on the web and talk to people. <\/p>\n

The message of the company MUST remain consistent throughout the organization no matter WHO is sending the message. But, it\u2019s perfectly OK to be yourself. Look, the right person must naturally fit that particular role, just like Brett Favre naturally fit in Green Bay. Ford is not going to bring in some 19 year old blond or some Grandma for that role\u2026It wouldn\u2019t make any sense with the image they are trying to portray. <\/p>\n

The evolution of this role is already changing. Why? Well, a 140 character twitter message has become more credible than a 30 second commercial. It came for one source, unfiltered, unedited. Think about it. If that twitter message came from one person not a \u201ccorporation\u201d, it can be trusted if that person built credibility with the audience. The audience knows that person can be held accountable by what he\/she says. Not held accountable by the company they work for, but by the actual audience! If that person isn\u2019t truthful, they may as well quit! With a commercial, the audience knows the company can always just buy another commercial. If the social media person builds up credibility with the audience, that only helps the brand and the organization build a positive image of transparency. I\u2019m not saying you don\u2019t buy ads, I\u2019m stating the importance if consistency and perception. It\u2019s important that that person have DIRECT contact with the crisis department and the PR people. The social media \u201cspokesperson\u201d could have more of an impact on the perception than anyone. Think about it. That\u2019s the person the audience trusts now. <\/p>\n

The other day I came across a job offer ad on the internet from a HUGE car dealership place here in Dallas. They had the name of the company, then the ad read, \u201cLookin for college kid to twitter, do our emails and facebook.\u201d \u201cYou can do this from your dorm-room or wherever.\u201d This was a \u201chigh-end\u201d dealership mind you. NOT cheap cars! I thought, OMG! This is your brand you dumbass!
\nThis KID would have front line interaction with the buyers and potential buyers!! Not just that, you have to do a number of things to make social media work, not just twitter and facebook! LOOK! It\u2019s no longer college kids hooking up and finding parties online!! This is REAL! This is marketing, business development, crisis communication and PR ALL wrapped up in one platform! Until people realize that, companies will continue to struggle to find the right approach and truly get ROI from social media. This is why I state the importance of finding the right spokesperson for the role. It\u2019s not a \u201cshort term\u201d ad buy\u2026it\u2019s an investment into the position of your company. If it hasn\u2019t already, social media will very soon become a college course or even a degree! <\/p>\n

At the end of the day you want to make sure the social media \u201cspokesperson\u201d you have doing your social media fits the chemistry, the image and the perception of the \u201cteam\u201d or company. They are a direct reflection of your organization and it\u2019s image. Always keep them in the loop on what\u2019s going on and never lie or tell partial truths. As the evolution of this role changes, the important thing to remember is authenticity. So, don\u2019t hire some inexperienced college kid for your social media needs, hire a spokesperson that represents the personality of the company and its image. <\/p>\n

Richard Harmer, Brand Strategist \u2014 Brady Media Group<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Ain\u2019t Child\u2019s Play Anymore Folks! Guest Post by Richard Harmer Brady Media Group Here\u2019s the deal, companies develop personalities just like people. Since this is football season and I\u2019m a big football fan, lets take NFL football teams as an example. Go COWBOYS!! Just sayin\u2026 So Anyway\u2026 Each team has a personality and most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[518],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-webmasters"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8083\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}