There are a lot of jokes floating around that any gen Y kid can become a social media consultant, there is no need for any qualifications or experience other than some basic knowledge of blogging, Facebook, Twitter etc... I recently came across a leading digital media agency in Mumbai, where the oldest in the SMM team was about 30! Here I have looked at some problems in hiring newbies as social media people and also some plus points.
Problems
Username - Email
Generally the usernames on a social network, once taken cannot be changed or re-taken. So its important to decide which email id should be used to create the company account. Often the newbie social media guy will use his personal email id! This can be really risky cause this means that the company head has secondary importance in the account!
At some point if the guy leaves (which he probably will) it can be troublesome. Also if he gets pissed off at your company (which can also happen), he could simply delete the page!
Tech Savvy
Often youngsters maybe good at personal social networking, but for companies there is a requirement of some knowledge of Tech. Not having this can be troublesome. Newer, improved technologies will not be adopted by the company, giving the campaign an oldish look to it.
Public Responses
Social media consultants have to very often comment and respond to customer queries. The responses need to look professional, even better if they show some depth of conversation. Handing over such communications to a bunch of inexperienced youngsters could be harmful for your companies reputation.
Plus Points
Public Responses
One of the most boring things when conversing with company representatives, is that they tend to be too formal and give us the same rote. Often I have seen that youngsters are genuinely enthusiastic, which comes across! So the touch of un-professionalism can be a good thing, sometimes!
Freshness
Since they have not spent too much time in the industry they could come up with really fresh ideas for social media campaigns which is a hit with other youngsters (a huge online population). This could make the difference needed for a viral campaign!
I find young people in this field pretty amazing! Frankly I feel that most of the education (at least in India) is unnecessary and it tends to make people rigid in terms of their thinking. It kills innovation rather than foster it, anyway thats another matter.
What are your ideas, about a newbie social media consultant? What are the risks and advantages?
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