In the last few months there has been an increase in demand of social media experts to manage accounts on behalf of brands in Kenya. To be an admin of a business page,twitter handle or that public's figure profile you don't need much in terms of education but you need to understand a few things regarding social media.
Key among them is Social Media etiquette, personal branding & the thin line between building hype and push marketing and basically how to post engaging content to interact with the fans or followers.
Today it's no longer an issue of being on social media but establishing the right presence on social media. In my line of duty as a social media specialist I have learnt a few things that I'd like to share with you.
Having handled pages of some of the biggest brands in the Kenya I have learnt a few major things that could help you establish yourself in this niche(untapped) market and prosper in the profession !
1. Follow the Code of Business Conduct and all other Company policies.
This is one of the key things that you have to understand first. You got to understand the brand you are dealing with. What are its core values, mission, vision, how do they do business? It's also important to understand the legal aspects so that you don't bind the company or the individual to any contracts as you interact with the fans.
2. Be mindful that you are representing the Company.
A lot of times we do tweet very silly, unimportant stuff on our own profiles. You cannot handle brands with the same freedom. There are also certain times that we do post updates when we are so emotional either angry or very happy. This is dangerous because our emotions impair our judgement. If you have already handled a business page on behalf of a brand then you understand just how long at times it takes to come up with an update. Please take your role seriously because when people respond to your update they do so interacting with the brand.
3.Fully disclose your affiliation with the Company.
This is another very important aspect in case you are external to the organization. If a few fans realise you are an admin of a certain page but then you don't work for the brand you are representing on social media it's always good to say the agency you work for.
It's better if you do work for the company whose accounts you are handling however if you work in an agency it becomes a little bit more tricky especially if you handle 3 or 4 different accounts because people may not understand which brand you work for so it's good to disclose your affiliations.
4.Keep records.
If you are handling pages on behalf of a certain then you understand that the client in most cases doesn't check the page daily. Submitting weekly digital reports on the activities/responses on the page is critical. It's your back up so please prepare reports to show what you did on the page for the week.
5.When in doubt, do not post.
Kindly desist from posting content you aren't sure of. In most cases if you are external to the organisation you may not be up to date with what's happening daily with the company. Desist from doing updates or tweets that promise one thing and the brand delivers another. This will help reduce unanswered inquiries on the page and 'heat' from unhappy customers on the page or twitter handle.
7.Give credit where credit is due and don’t violate others’ rights.
We all use Google to generate content on a page. If you choose to use someone's content kindly acknowledge the source of your information. Could be as simple as a motivational quote, joke or a nice photo. Give credit to the sources.
8. Be responsible to your work.
This is so simple; don't mess the brand! Strive to always deliver results and communicate the intended brand message to the fans daily.
9.Remember that your local posts can have global significance.
If you are handling a global brand locally remember that there are different users with varied interests on the page. They could be competitors, government bodies, people seeking employment at the firm and such. So kindly do not post information that may harm the firm's image or send the wrong signal among it's key publics.
10.Know that the Internet is permanent.
Whatever you post on the page remains on the internet. If you make a mistake a few people will have seen it by the time you realize it and delete the content.
Be careful with what you place on these page; with the Facebook timeline one can dig up easily into what you did 3 years ago. This will really help you in handling the page with utmost care and diligence.
If you have any questions,comments or you need help with handling your presence on Social media kindly
follow me @Kenyanmarketer and i will be glad to assist!
Have a great week.
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