I recently hosted an all-day boot camp on the fundamentals of digital marketing at Online Marketing Summit in San Diego. During the social media marketing section, I explained to a somewhat confused audience that they should all consider firing their Social Media Marketing Managers. The reason is simple: the job description is inherently flawed. Based on my experience, what companies truly need to hire, in order to maintain relevance in the new Millennium, is a Social Media Evangelist.
I’ve worked with a variety of “forward-looking” companies over the years, many of which have had the “foresight” to hire a recent college graduate “native” to social media, and put them in the powerful position of representing the corporate brand externally. There are a variety of challenges inherent to hiring inexperienced, unproven talent for such a critical role: inadequate communication skills, inability to self-direct, lack of business or marketing knowledge or understanding of company history and culture. Younger talent also lacks experience in working with management (assuming they are given access in the first place) as well as navigating corporate policies and politics. The cost of developing younger talent, regardless of potential and level of enthusiasm, can be significant in terms of time and money.
On the other hand, hiring a “seasoned” social media professional will cost dearly up front (possibly a six figure salary) and may bring other issues to the table, including predisposed thoughts regarding overall social media philosophy and process. Assuming you do get lucky and find an affordable, intelligent socially-savvy individual to fill the position, the role is typically so time-consuming that they are unable to take the time to stay on top of the latest social media tools, trends and tactics. More importantly, they may not have the bandwidth to identify & respond to issues and opportunities in a timely manner. Last but not least, the uniquely powerful role may foster a desire to build a build a fiefdom, resulting in a siloed and fragmented approach to social media.
There is hope, if not a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, however. Many of the challenges inherent to hiring a Social Media Marketing Manager are avoidable. Consider turning the role upside-down, focusing on integrating social media throughout your organization, driven by a Social Media Evangelist. In the Evangelist model, the role is that of Chief Brand Officer/CMO/Editor-in-Chief/HR Director all wrapped into one. Instead of being the single voice for the company, the Evangelist manages the overall voice of the company, as created by employees at all levels.
Let’s make a quick comparison between the two roles of Social Media Marketing Manager and Social Media Evangelist. For starters, notice the “Marketing” is dropped, since the responsibilities expand well beyond marketing into R&D, customer service and sales. The other significant difference is the shift of responsibility of outreach from an individual to all employees. Essentially, the Evangelist is a director and less of a tactician. Here’s another way to look at it:
Social Media Marketing Manager Job Description:
- Develops and implements overall social media strategy
- Creates, optimizes, promotes and manages social media profiles
- Creates majority of content
- Primary voice of company
- Monitors social media platforms
- Provides reporting to management
- Responsible for keeping up-to-date on evolving tools, trends and tactics
Social Media Evangelist Job Description:
- Develops and manages overall social media strategy
- Ensures all corporate social profiles are properly claimed, optimized, promoted and managed
- Manages voice of company
- Manages content creation
- Trains employees to monitor & engage in social media
- Manages and analyzes reporting across company
- Responsible for keeping employees updates on evolving technology, trends and tools
As you can see, there are subtle yet important differences between the roles. One is an implementer and the other is more of a facilitator. There are a variety of benefits to this approach. For starters, the Evangelist can be promoted and developed from within the company, which is historically more affordable and efficient. The position relies less on intimate knowledge of platforms and audiences and more on common talents like management and organizational skills.
With an ability to hire mid-level talent to fill the role, the Evangelist position also allows for invaluable intimate industry or company-specific knowledge. The seasoned individual would be more likely to gain exposure to and support from executive management, as well as other key employees. With a distributed approach to content creation, this person would also have more bandwidth to identify and respond to critical issues and opportunities in a timely manner as well as stay on top of the latest social media tools, trends and tactics.
Start rethinking your current Social Media Marketing Manager job description. If you’re lucky (or smart) you may only need to redeploy your existing person with minimal disruption. More than likely, the existing employee would be more than happy with an opportunity to elevate their role within the company as Chief (Social Media) Evangelist.
Hi,
I like the title of this post and also the content itself.
Very informative and useful.
Thanks for the article. I couldn't agree more. The idea that social media is a thing as opposed to an approach to communications with customers and prospective customers is where a lot of companies go wrong.
Having one implementer is pretty much impossible. It's kind of like saying only one salesperson is allowed to the telephone. Training of the broader team is the key.
Great article. This is exactly the way to go. Only problem is the nomenclature which is just terrible. Surely we got over the whole naff "evangelist" nonsense years ago.
You could always call them a "strategist", "planner", or something like that...but I think the position, for those organizations that are title driven, needs to have "manager" "director" etc. as part of the title to drive the point home that this person will be injecting social media awareness into EVERYTHING, not just marketing/branding.
Kent,
I love the thought that you have put in to this article. Although I am not in that position for a larger company, this article makes a lot of since. Technology moves at such a fast rate staying on top of the trends and best practices takes time and is considerably important.
The shift in job description could bare a great amount of productivity and success. It would also allow for solid holistic growth. You hit a bull’s eye, in my opinion, and created a win/win.
It was a very good read.
Thanks for insight.
--Ben
This is a great insight. I've been conceptually getting an handle on what we need for a non-profit organization. Although your term "evangelizer" may be provisional, I clearly see better how to address our own situation. Thank you!
What you wrote here reminds me of someone saying that what good are certifications if the person don't have the 'people skill' to implement the process.. and take note, I emphasize people skills as engagement is quintessential on the Social Web. Besides, you don't simply need a voice for your brand, but someone who's great at listening as well. I think that social media jobs/titles are still in the wild west and we can see lots of changes ahead. Thanks for citing the difference though. Cheers!
I enjoyed reading your post very much! It's true that time spent "doing the work" takes time away from "staying on top and in the know"... From the client's perspective and the social media professional's perspective, the expectation for the scope of the social media professional's duties MUST be to provide the expert RESULT that the client sought when he/she hired the social media professional - and - providing that expert result in an on-going relationship requires that the social media professional remain aware, informed, and skilled in the new technologies, opportunities, and tools that become available over time.
Thanks for the interesting read Kent, you make some considerable points. In your article you state that a Social Media Marketing Manager should technically become what you name a 'Social Media Evangelist,' and instead of creating a company voice they should focus on managing and ensuring. But have you ever considered the Social Media Marketing Manager's ability to integration social/digital media into marketing campaigns? As a Marketing Director at Cisco, I have found that integrating a digital marketing campaign in conjunction with conferences and events creates an interactive community for the user, increasing participation and boosting interest before, during and after an event. This increased engagement keeps the user thinking about the event after it is over, which is a return that businesses want to see. This innovative integration is not particularly complicated and yields great results, all achieved by the implementation of social media. Thanks again for the article Kent, I hope to see marketers everywhere start using social and digital media to the fullest effect!
Jennifer,
I'm pleased you enjoyed the article. In response to your point, I believe there is plenty of flexibility in how the role is created/formed/evolved, as it may make sense for a larger organization like Cisco to have Social Media Marketing Managers directly responsible integrating SM into events and other traditional marketing activities. In my scenario, I would see you managing an Event Coordinator type person, who would actually manage the integration, and you would direct it at a strategic level. Subtle differences. The critical point I'm making is that the responsibility for social outreach should not be held by one person, but should be distributed throughout the organization. I hope that helps.
Good article and great content!
However I'd like to know if there are good articles like this on "how to become e REAL Social Media Evangelist"!!!
I enjoyed the article and agree with many of your points. It is important to incorporate social media into the larger strategy of a company. I think what is often overlooked is the fact that many of these social media solution platforms are not adequate. Hootsuite is fine for personal use but is in no way acceptable for business. It offers no transparency and does not allow a company to see the efforts of a social media manager. With little to no transparency you cannot see the effort and quantify the results.
I am looking forward reading more of your articles.
Good job.
I encourage you continue writing.
I agree with you on most points.
I appreciate reading your blog.
The subject is well covered.