You probably don’t consider social media to be an employee of your business, but here is why you should.
As a business owner, you likely put a lot of thought into the people that you hire. Both in terms of their fit into your organization and the value that individual brings. You have people who handle your books, your marketing, sales, and various other positions. You probably often ask yourself: Are the people I’ve hired increasing value to my organization? Are they doing what I hired them to do? You are smart for doing this, but are you using this kind of analysis for all of the “employees” in your business?
As social media has become more of a professional tool, rather than it being used only for fun, the lines have become blurred as to when and how they should be appropriately used. I recommend that you think of social media (and any other investment of time and energy on your part) as a hired position. What I mean by this is that you should evaluate your social media efforts in the context of how you are using it versus how it is intended to be used for your business.
If the “job” you originally “hired” social media for was for professional purposes, like networking or marketing, then you should hold it and yourself accountable, just as you would an employee. Is that employee bringing value to your business in excess of the resources you are putting into it? If it is, are you dedicating protected time to getting the most out of it?
Have you worked it into your daily/weekly objectives?
Do you have measurable goals established and are working towards achieving them?
What kind of investment is social media requiring from you? If you aren’t tracking these things, you may never know when it is time to give that promotion, or perhaps hand over a pink slip.
Why did you initially get started with social media? Was it for personal reasons like staying connected with friends? If so, best continue to view it in that light, which may help keep you away from it during productive working time.
Take some time to consider these things and ask if social media is appropriately completing the job it was hired for in your business.
Yes, I started social media to keep up with friends, but quickly saw the power of social media and began doing more with it. Great post, Reade. It shows the importance of taking social media seriously and using it to its biggest potential.
Thanks for reading, Adam.
I’m glad you’ve thought about it as a serious aspect of your business. I think most business people know that it has value and that they should be using it, but it rarely gets treated like a real piece of business capital.