Why Your Social Media Shouldn’t Be Turned Over to an Intern

mobile phone with facebook on screen

Many businesses have the dilemma of deciding who the best person is to manage their day-to-day social media content.

“Give it to the intern. She’s young. She’s hip. She knows how to use social media.” While all these statements may be true in your case, there are good reasons why social media shouldn’t be turned over to just anyone.

Yes, social media is conversational in tone, giving it a lighter air of fun. However, it is serious business. It’s a touch point of your brand. The content you post, the tone of your conversation, the frequency in which you engage your audience, all say something about who you are as a company or organization.

Who’s the best person to manage your social media?

Are you consistently putting your best face forward? If not, you’re basically conveying to your audience, “We need to do social media, but it isn’t our top priority.” And if this is the message they’re receiving, they’re less likely to follow you or engage with you.

Think of it this way, if you have a dream prospect that you want to land as a customer, and you have the chance to connect with them, whom would you want as your spokesperson? What would you want them to say about your business and its benefits? You need to look at your social media engagement in the same way. If you would want your best salesperson to be your spokesperson, you probably don’t have the luxury of giving them the responsibility of managing your social media profiles. Nor should you. But you need to view your social media content and strategies in the same way because if you do it right, you will be building relationships with ideal prospects and customers, and not just a random group of people.

Ultimately, you want to select a mature, responsible person that understands your brand and the target customers you want to attract. Then, you need to give them the opportunity to succeed.

  1. Train them on the benefits, the personality, and the culture of your organization.
  2. Teach them about your goals with social media and how you want certain situations handled.
    What rules would you like them to follow regarding content, tone, language, frequency of engagement? If a customer has an issue and addresses it in public on your Facebook wall, how should your social media person respond? If one of your followers sends a direct message via Twitter that they are interested in learning more about your products or services or they are ready to buy, who should your person direct them to?
  3. Give your marketing person the opportunity to stay educated about the evolutions of social media. Not all social media platforms are the same. What works on one platform, may not work on another. For example, how you engage your audience on LinkedIn is very different than the culture on Pinterest. By hiring a social media marketing company to perform training with your staff, you’ll increase the benefit of your online efforts.

If you don’t have a qualified social media person in-house, you can outsource it.

However, if you do, don’t assume that you can simply turn the task over to a social media firm with zero interaction on your part. While a talented firm can implement best practices to accomplish your goals, they will still need to obtain insight regarding the aforementioned company culture and personality. If you’re interviewing companies and they don’t ask you such questions, they will not be able to effectively attract the right audience or establish the online brand you desire.

For more information about developing social media content that works, or to find out more about our social media management and training services, call us at (410) 366-9479.


Incite Creative is a marketing strategy and creative implementation firm that works in an outsourced capacity. In short, we become your company’s chief marketing officer (CMO) and do so virtually and efficiently — saving you time and money. Since 1999 we’ve had the pleasure of building and boosting brands for a core set of industries. Our thoughtful process, experienced team, and vested interest in our client’s success has positioned us as one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most sought-after marketing partners for those looking to grow their brand awareness and their bottom line. Stop paying for digital and/or traditional services you may not really need. Our retainer, no mark-up model means our recommendations don’t come with any catch or commission. The recommendations we make align with what you need and what fits within your budget. For more information, contact Dina Wasmer at 410-366-9479 or [email protected].