By Lauren Galli, #Strella Creative Director
I’ve been managing social media accounts for about two years now, and I’ve seen successes and failures. As a classic overachiever, I will never give a client less than my best, so failure is difficult for me. If social media isn’t working to a client’s liking, there are modifications that can be made, but the client has to be willing to accept my advice on certain matters.
I want my clients’ efforts to be successful in every respect, so I try to give them the best possible advice and assistance I can offer. However, there are instances where the client refuses to follow advice, and ultimately their efforts tend to be in vain.
The one major value I try to instill in all of my clients is the importance of incorporating the human element on social media. Customers like to do business with a person, not a corporation, and adding a face to the brand can only help. Martha Stewart didn’t become a household name hiding behind her crafting table. Anthony Bourdain isn’t a major culinary figure because he was a shrinking violet on the line at a three star restaurant.
One client, a favorite of mine, made an admirable attempt at his social media. He followed advice, to an extent, and with our assistance, kept his content current and relevant. Unfortunately, he refused to allow us to add anything personal to his content, his blog posts, or his web presence. When his business didn’t see an upswing, his first reaction was to blame social media. In this instance, we believed he could have seen a great deal of success had he allowed us to add something about himself or why he had started the company.
Sometimes, in social media, it is necessary to let go of the reins and let us drive. Hiring a social media manager is a big decision and it is typically made due to lack of time or lack of expertise. As a manager, I’m willing to follow my client’s lead, as long as they’re occasionally willing to defer to the knowledge I’ve gained, as well.
Working with a social media company requires a strong partnership in order to actualize results. As they say...help us, help you.
I totally agree! When Rachel told me I should have a picture of me on my home page and Facebook - I was horrified! It took me forever to get a picture and she even offered to come take it! Finally one Saturday when we were working on the building I went out to our new sign with dirt all around it and stood in a Columbia jacket with my supervising physician - he made a goofy smiling face and put his thumbs up and that pic stayed there for over a year.... I just let someone snap a pic. Sent if off and never looked back. We did get good feed back but I always cringed thinking about it ... Which was often because patients mentioned it a lot! I guess it showed personality too.... I have only been asked once for a new picture for the holiday and I never got it to them! However, when we took it down to add my new full time employee (because with Rachel and her team leading our success we just started full
Time hours!) to the picture ... We get great feed back from that picture too ... I truly feel that it does make a difference being able to see who you are working with. If people have a face and a story they almost feel more like they know you. So this was great advice! Had I done social media myself I would have never put a pic of myself up there and never ever been able to keep up! So thankful for Rachel and her team!
Lauren,
You made smile. You've been a dream to work with. What you did was get comfortable being uncomfortable - and sometimes a little bit of that is what's needed to be successful on social media. Most of us cringe at the thought of showing our personality - even a photograph - because many of us are camera shy or because we're used to the 'professional' corporate side of things. Kudos to you for making it happen! Much success to you!
Rachel