I get contacted about Social Media jobs a lot. I get contacted about Web Analytics jobs even more. Become a Web Analyst if you’re struggling for employment, there are loads of jobs in that.

Anyway, the Social Media roles; I tend to find that I’m having to explain how I feel about Social over and over because what each company wants from the new Social Media recruit is invariably not what I’m offering, so I thought I’d lay it down. I get the feeling that most companies want an agency style person, but internally, to create one way content to be pumped out through their network. I commend them for bringing Social in house, but that’s not how I work.

I can’t deliver a short term return on investment

Investment in Social Media ad platforms is akin to Display or Pay Per Click Marketing, apart from people aren’t going to Social Networks to buy anything, they’re going to engage. If you’re going to spend in Social, severely limit your spend on cost per click ads. Spend on Twitter to promote your hashtag or even better, spend a little on good content; I’m talking videos, graphics, infographics and research as opposed to out-sourcing your content production.

I won’t spend money on page likes

It’s a nice, yet hollow, boost to the ego for your business to have 6 figure followers, for more business tips, visit compareyourbusinesscosts.co.uk/. Some brands have done it, fewer have done it organically. Paid for likes will ultimately dilute your engagement levels, therefore Facebook’s algorithms will see your content as increasingly less relevant, making it harder to get in to the newsfeeds of people that actually want to read it. This means you’ll have to spend money for your posts to cut through the noise. It’s a downward spiral in to spending increasing £€$ on Facebook ads. Cunning, Mark Zuckerberg, very cunning.

Boost an event or a link back to your online website, but never spend purely for likes.

I’m not going to publish generic content

Unless you’re a news agency or similar, no one follows your brand for generic industry news, they want to know what is happening in your company. No agency or standalone Social Media Manager can speak with your voice.

I won’t get your hashtags trending…sorry

There are some really good examples of company driven hashtags, but there are also some major horror stories about company hashtags too. The best company hashtags do NOT contain your brand or company name and they have a wider initiative around them. Use hashtags, by all means, but think very carefully before starting to use your own.