Director of Social Media Position Overview

The Director of Social Media is responsible for developing remarkable content for Raidious clients on social media channels. This includes working collaboratively with our entire engagement team to develop new and innovative social media strategy and methodology.

This position will be responsible for the coordination and execution of Engagment Services for Raidious at the direction of the senior team. Management of project deliverables, time-lines, and quality control will be the Director of Social Media’s primary responsibilities.

All deliverables will be assigned and tracked using our project management tool. It is critical that our employees execute their assigned tasks on time and within the parameters of the established strategy and scope of work. The Director of Social Media needs to not only adhere to this policy, but help enforce it as well.

Key Responsibilities of the Director of Social Media:

1. Create engaging social media content for Raidious clients.
2. Accomplish the client’s objectives within the assigned scope of work.
3. Social media monitoring for Raidious clients
4. Social media moderation for Raidious clients
5. Social media management for Raidious clients
6. Development of social media strategies for Raidious clients
7. Supervision and quality control of Social Media team

Essential Job Functions:

• Leadership on social media campaigns
• Further development of social media offerings
• Creative idea generation for clients

Requirements:

• College degree
• 2-3 years social media marketing experience for an enterprise-level company
• Strong communication skills
• Strong writing skills
• Knowledge of current interactive marketing best practices
• Project management skills
• Ability to work a fast paced but flexible schedule at 40 hours per week
• Independent worker with ability to complete assigned tasks, and manage a complex and fast-paced production schedule.

People follow brands to receive exclusivity, promotions, and be "in the know"

Social Media is still growing, and if you are a marketer that has drug your feet getting online, you should wait no longer. With the holiday season coming up, you have more users then ever going online to figure out what they want to buy their loved ones this holiday season. Whether it is inspiration for that 5:00 am brick and mortar trip the day after Thanksgiving, or the consumer that is planning on buying everything online; you have an opportunity to really impact consumer buying habits with social media this holiday season.

According to the study, 10 Quick Facts You Should Know About Consumer Behavior on Twitter, released by Chadwick Martin Bailey in October 2011, 6 in 10 Twitter followers are existing customers. While being an existing customer is the top reason (64%), the other reasons are extremely telling on the consumer’s intentions when following a brand. Other top reasons were to be the first to know info about the brand (61%), to receive discounts and promotions (48%) and gain access to exclusive content (36%). This information is giving brands more fire power then ever going into the holiday season.

Twitter users are frequent online users overall; 50% go online more than once an hour

The study also points out that the majority of users (79%) follow fewer than 10 brands and 36% only follow one or two brands. Also, 50% of Twitter users and 34% of Facebook users visit those sites more than once an hour; not to mention that 75% of Twitter followers have never unfollowed a brand. This creates a great combination for marketers on social because the majority of your audience only follows a handful of brands (and you are one of them!), they get online a lot and they are loyal. It is a marketing trifecta!

So how do you capitalize? Here are 4 tips to help get your brand in front of more eyeballs this holiday season.

1. Release Deals to Social Media Networks: Advertisers spend a lot of money on ads, weekly inserts in the Sunday paper, and direct mail during the holiday season. By putting this information online, you enhance your offline efforts and give your audience an opportunity to share the information with their friends and followers; it’s additional advertising at no cost.
2. Don’t Just Push. Interact: 33% of brand followers on Twitter are interacting with brands more this year than last year. You will deepen brand loyalty with users if you let them know you are listening and not just publishing.
3. Tweet Frequently (if you have the content to support it): With so much going on in the Twitter-sphere, you need to stay in front of your audience. By no means do I recommend Tweeting for Tweet sake, but if you have enough relevant content to jabber about, get your tweet on. Some ideas on what you can share with your audience are deals, promotions, trivia, relevant holiday tips, company news and relevant industry or company retweets. With 50% of users going back to Twitter more than once an hour, you are primed to get maximum exposure to your audience this holiday season. Be cautious of audience burn. If your audience is starting to unfollow your brand, then you may be posting too many non-relevant things to Twitter. Also, don’t post as much to Facebook as you would to Twitter.
4. Run Social Only Promotions: Make your audience feels like they have an inside track for following you this holiday season. Your users will check back to see what you have to offer next. This keeps you top of mind for the deal seeking crowd.

What are your social media strategies for this holiday season? Did I leave any tips out that you are planning on implementing?

Also Read: 

Ruby at The Acropolis in Athens, Greece

Watch out! our team is growing AGAIN!! We are thrilled to have two new additions to our engagement team this month, Ruby Kohler & Jennifer Love. Ruby Kohler will be joining Raidious as a Social Media Specialist, and Jennifer Love will be our newest engagement intern!

Ruby is a Bloomington, IN native and recent graduate of the Ernie Pyle School of Journalism. Her enthusiasm and positivity are truly contagious. Ruby is an avid runner and enjoys swimming in her spare time. She most recently worked as a Marketing Director for Agency 7, where she managed public relations and social media for the Bloomington chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Jennifer & Her Husky, Iggy

Jennifer graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Communications & Public Relations. She brings to us her passion for writing, creativity, and a strong work ethic. A natural born leader and philanthropist, Jennifer conducted a PR campaign for the West Lafayette Recycling Company.

We are excited to have Ruby & Jennifer on board and look forward to working with them!

Follow them on Twitter:

• Ruby Kohler
• Jennifer Love

Let’s face it… you are likely over capacity.

The online landscape has changed and so has the way we all do business today. If you are a marketer, you’re probably getting requests from the executive level DEMANDING that you get your multi-channel strategy together ASAP. To them, this is a reasonable request. But to you, the already stretched thin marketing director with a 3-4 person team, this request has just put a major kink in the marketing strategy you finalized a month ago! How do you scale your team to meet the demand?

The problem with the request is the misunderstanding of what it takes to run a multi-channel campaign. In the eyes of the “boss” it is as simple as setting up a few tools, slapping a logo on it, and letting the masses fill your pages with comments about how they love your brand….but you as a marketer know better. Oh, and by the way, there is no more budget. It’s ok though, because Facebook and Twitter are free… right?

If only it were that simple.

The questions going through your head are most likely

• Who is going to do all of this work?
• When we are at capacity, how will we scale?
• Where am I going to get all of this content?
• When will we find time to tackle this?
• What will our strategy look like?
• What will we write about?

If you are in this spot and feeling completely overwhelmed by this monstrous stack of tasks that have unknowingly been placed on your desk, you are not alone. But don’t fret, there are options. This scenario is the exact reason Raidious exists. In short, we can do all of this work for you.

We are structured and staffed to alleviate the capacity problem for your brand. Today there are many companies out there that can help you identify your strategy but few who will actually do the work for you. It sounds great in theory but it doesn’t solve the problem. You need doers. You need humans. We all know that the only resource for content is PEOPLE. But not just any people. You need professionals who understand how to write content. But it doesn’t stop there. You need people who can write content for the web, in the voice of your brand, in real time, in a way that marries your brand to your consumer, to the world. These people are not interns, junior level marketers, or friends of a friend who is good at Facebook.

It’s not rocket science. It is the simple truth. Employ the right people or partners to just “do the work” and you will look like a rock star to that executive team by growing your audience and bottom line. No sweat, no worries, just proper management…it is just that simple.

In the world of social media it is all too common that people forget the importance of minding their manners. By cutting out the face-to-face interaction it’s incredibly easy to respond less earnestly to people or further- to just ignore them all together.  While it is necessary to make thoughtful and timely responses to your customers, you have to consider the size of your online following.  Your online social circle may extend to thousands or even millions of people.  While it is ideal to cater to each and every request, you need to find an efficient way to prioritize your responses so that they can remain thorough and engaging.

There is no doubt that ignoring customers is a recipe for disaster in terms of brand management for you and your company.  To provide proper customer service in a busy digital media landscape it is key to ensure people know you’re responding to their concerns.  It is crucial to respond to any and all questions, even if the answer is as simple as “Let us research your problem and get back to you.”

Each and every customer matters to your brand’s well being.  If a customer is loyal enough to engage with your social media platforms, he or she is doing you a favor by providing feedback that will help your business grow in a positive direction.  Quickly respond to customer requests so that they continue to provide you with direction.  Remember: if a customer came into your office with a question or complaint you wouldn’t just ignore them!

Obviously, there is a scalability issue here, along with influence analysis. While every legitimate question, or issue deserves a response it may not be possible to answer them quickly. Start by analyzing influence. If the customer in question has all of 12 Twitter followers, then they are obviously going to drop on the priority to list to someone with 1 million followers.

The initial response is what most consumers are looking for, so give them what they want and solve their problems when possible.

As brands grow and mature, they take on a life and personality all their own. Now that companies are expected to actively participate in social media, this personality–their brand voice–can be difficult to establish, leading some to balk at this newfound responsibility.

This difficult transition is akin to a child approaching their teen years. My girlfriend’s ten-year-old son–who, to protect his anonymity, we’ll call Tron (he’ll think that’s cool)–is at the age where he is testing the limits of his freedom and exploring his own priorities. In child psychology this period of questioning and challenging authority is referred to as “being a pain the patootie.”

While most of the time Tron is a cheerful, obedient boy, he has his moments of resistance when, rather than unquestioningly following directions, he pushes back. Many of these excuses sounded familiar to me, and I realized that they are often similar if not identical to those offered by companies adjusting to the “everyone is a publisher” reality of social media.

Let’s take a look at some of his more popular challenges. Do you hear yourself or your executive leadership in any of these? If so, it’s time to ask yourself if you are indeed smarter than a fourth-grader.

“I’ll do it during the next commercial.”

This one invariably comes up when it’s time for his nightly shower. Tron is ensconced in a TV show and promises to take a five-minute shower so he doesn’t miss the next exciting development taking place on the Disney Channel. Never mind that the same episode will air approximately 4,327 more times this week, or that we can DVR his favorite shows. He’s busy.

Many companies pay lip service to the importance of social media engagement, but in practice dedicate a minimal amount of time and attention to it. Five minutes out of your day isn’t going to accomplish any goals or solve any business problems whatsoever (or get your stinky ten-year-old clean). Well-planned, well-executed strategies aren’t accomplished in whatever free time you try to fit them.

“That’s not what I meant.”

I find myself channeling my mother when I tell Tron to “engage brain before engaging mouth.” Regardless there are times when his opinion comes flying out before giving any consideration to how it will sound to others. When such insensitivity is brought to his attention, he’ll often say, “That’s not what I meant.”

Regardless of intent, the power of expression lies within how words affect others. It may not be sticks and stones, but as we have seen recently with both accidental (Chrysler) and intentional (Kenneth Cole) missteps, the words we use on social networking sites can indeed hurt. In the case of a brand, the party usually most hurt by our poor choice of words is us. The court of public opinion looks unfavorably upon those who misuse or abuse the social media pulpit. It pays to be acutely aware of the possible connotations and power of your words.

“I don’t feel like talking about it.”

When Tron has a bad day at school–whether or not we’ve received a call or a note home from the teacher–we know it immediately. A usually upbeat, singing, dancing, babbling kid is replaced by a sullen, disinterested slug. No matter what the problem, no matter whose fault it was, we encourage him to tell us about it. Of course at times he is less than forthcoming, saying, “I don’t feel like talking about it.”

The issue here is transparency; it’s easy to share your triumphs with others when you’re happy and excited. When the chips are down and you’re dealing with trouble, the natural response is to clam up. In the case of social media, you must remember that everyone on the web is a publisher. If you don’t talk about what went wrong with your company, others will.

What if they’re wrong? What if they’re misinformed? It’s one thing to issue a press release in an attempt to spin or explain away whatever mistake your company may have made. It’s another thing entirely to get out in front of the issue using your owned media channels and turn a potential tragedy into an opportunity. Believe it or not, your customers and the world at large will respect you and your openness (see also ComcastCares).

“Do I have to?”

Yes.

Raidious is hiring! We are looking to get someone in the door quickly to work with our amazing social media team. Check out the description below, and fill out the form to apply.

Do you LOVE social media? Can you spend hours immersed in it? And…are you ready to start your career with a dynamic company like none other in the interactive marketing business?

If you can answer yes, then we have the entry-level position for you!

We are Raidious, and we are an interactive marketing and communications company, purpose-built to produce content and manage dialogue for brands. We make the content that makes digital marketing work. Check us out at Raidious.com.

We have a position in Indianapolis to join our team as a Social Media Coordinator. You will be responsible for monitoring an array of social media content for our clients to help them better leverage their brand. This is a great opportunity to learn social media marketing and how it works for business.

Successful candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, PR or Marketing with strong writing skills. You must have a strong familiarity with social media. Internship experience is acceptable and some design experience is a definite plus.

This is a new and exciting field, and this position offers you the ability to advance in a unique and dynamic organization. If you are ready for the challenge and reward of our position, please submit your resume below!

This week’s tip is for those of you struggling to manage your brand’s social media efforts on a daily basis, and finding that the work is time consuming, and monotonous. The solution is simple, “think campaign.”

In order to see the true benefits from managing your brand’s social media pages is treat it like any other marketing or public relations campaign. Start with research and planning. Learn where your targeted publics are located, and how they are using social media. Use that knowledge to create your plan.

Next, implement your strategy and measure along the way. Follow the strategy you set forth, but don’t be afraid to change directions when needed. Stick to your brand’s voice, but don’t be afraid to change your content strategy if you’re not getting the engagement or reach you’re looking for.

Once you’re into a solid strategy you’ll find that scheduling content in advance becomes easier, and if you’re campaign is done well, you’ll begin engaging with customers in an organized fashion that’s never been possible in the past.

If you’re current social media strategy is to turn on your computer and do a few posts each day, then it’s time to start focusing on developing a plan that looks out more well into your future rather than the next 24 hours.

REVIEW:

1. Research
2. Develop A Plan
3. Implement Your Strategy
4. Stick to Your Brand’s Voice
5. Don’t Be Afraid to Change
6. Measure

This week’s tip is short and simple. Don’t be afraid to change directions on your social media campaign.

The bottom line is that a good social campaign cannot be treated like any other marketing campaign. A strategy developed in November, executed in February, and measured along the way is not always going to be accepted by your audience exactly as planned.

Courtesy of WikiCommons

We always talk about how important it is to measure the success of your social strategy, but the other half of that is to actually make changes to what you’re doing based on the reaction of your audience. If no one seems to care about what you’re saying, then change what your saying!

It all starts with the tip we put forth last week. Start by measuring the success of your content, then make changes to your content based on the results of those metrics.

Keep it social people!

This week’s tip is quick and simple. Metrics.

If you are going to use social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to market your business then you must be able to measure your success on those platforms.

With baseball season about to kick off this week, all I seem to be able to think about is numbers. If you’re a die-hard baseball fan, then you know what I mean. We are constantly thinking about numbers, and measuring the success of our team based on those numbers.

We are below .500, but why? We look at Earned Run Average (ERA), Batting Average (BA), On Base Percentage (OBP), Home Runs (HR), Slugging (SLG), On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS), etc.

In measuring social media, we have statistics like Likes, Recommendations, Retweets, Replies, Backlinks, and so on.

Measuring the success of your social media strategy easy when you have the right tools, and it’s vital to know what you need to do moving forward. Therefore my new catch phrase has become, “You can’t know what to say until you start listening.”