Why Your IT Department Shouldn’t Do Your Social Media

The problem that I’m going to address today is one of the mistakes that many uninformed business owners and management teams make when deciding to implement a social media strategy.

Before I get started, I should note that I believe that there are exceptions to almost every rule and I don’t intend to banish every person that’s ever helped someone with a computer problem to some covert social media marketer blacklist.

Related: 5 Deadly Social Media Mistakes You Might Be Making

Social Media Marketing Is Not About Tech

Of course there is a side to the social web that includes pages of developer code and fancy apps that could have come into existence from the tooth fairy, for all you know. What I’m talking about is the perception that social media is purely techy and just another job your web guy or IT department can take care of.

When it comes to set up and design, a techy savvy person can spare you many headaches but social media is a marketing tool for business development and marketing, not IT.

You Don’t Need A Tech Expert, You Need A People Expert

Whoever is in charge of your social media should be someone that has an inherent ability to connect and communicate with people in social environments. If someone knows how to network at a business function or event, they are at a better advantage than the person on your staff who understands C++ or HTML coding when it comes to social media.

This doesn’t mean IT has to take a backseat completely, but understand that the technical side of social media is very small and insignificant when compared to the real job of leaving an impact with your potential customers. The technical aspects really end after your profiles are set up.

Content Creation Is Not IT’s Job

The big question that comes up when I hear the IT department is handling a company’s social media is where is the content coming from?

Letting anyone other than a well-versed marketing person deal with content creation can either be a big mistake, a waste of time, or both. Everything you do should cater to your target market and a good marketer will never lose sight of that.

It’s All About The Strategy

The biggest issue with letting your IT department handle your social media is that they aren’t qualified to create and implement an effective social media strategy to accomplish your greater business goals. Don’t use a hammer to tighten a screw!

In some cases it can make sense to have a random team member implement certain aspects of your social media strategy but someone who truly knows what they are doing should determine the strategy itself.

A great social media strategy should clearly outline:

• Content types, ideas and integration
• Social network prioritization
• How will visibility be created?
• Short term and long term objectives
• Fan and follower acquisition strategy
• KPIs (key performance indicators) and metrics for success
• How social media ties into the current sales funnel

Related: 7 Reasons Why Sales Pros Need LinkedIn For Lead Generation

It all comes down to picking the right person for the job. Assigning your social media strategy to an IT person is like sending the Navy to fight an air strike – they can be extremely effective in their own element but their skills would be better allocated to a different part of the battlefield.

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