Tag Archives: millennial

Social Media

Why You Shouldn’t Have an Intern Run Your Company’s Social Media

Leave a comment

Whether you are a small business or startup, funds may be tight at the beginning. Once business plans are complete, the website is being built, and everything seems to be in order, you may be looking at your next steps.

When it comes to social media marketing, many believe hiring an intern, or millennial who “knows” social media, may be the most cost-effective way for the company to get online. In this digital day and age when everyone’s eyes are glued to their phones and WiFi is a basic necessity, it’s only expected to have a Facebook page.

It’s only posting on Facebook every-so-often, right? Wrong. Between algorithms, audiences, PPC, research, and much more, the job of a social media marketer is not “just posting”. In addition, those posting on social media are essentially “the voice” of your company. While interns may know the basics, how to post on their personal social media, or took a college class, the depth of what should be learned and implemented in an ever-changing field requires knowledge beyond “basic” skills.

For instance, posting on a Facebook business page vs. posting on a Facebook personal page is different in itself. Facebook has created a “pay-to=play” game and organic growth is more hands-on and research-intensive. The focus of building relationships and a community around your company or brand through engagement is what will take you to the next level.

This is just with Facebook mentioned. Keep in mind that there are other social media platforms that require social listening to find your audience, and their own set of rules and guidelines to know. It is not a basic, templated project for every brand – it must be customized to the product, voice, and audience.

The social media marketer must have a variety of attributes and skills, such as a business-sense, personality, research skills, willingness to learn (not only about social media, but the company), dedication, creativity, ability to analyze, brand awareness, relationship and community building, customer service skills, ability to think on the spot, and common sense. This is not saying an intern lacks these qualities, but their knowledge may be limited when it comes down to it.

All in all, social media conveys the brand’s voice, so ultimately is your online representative and customer service. In that aspect, relying on an individual because they are low-cost, (legally, an unpaid intern cannot have the same duties as a paid employee/position) is an option that you will need to weigh out as a company, however, in anything in life, you get what you pay for.

 

Social Media Facelift, LLC provides social media account setup & management, consulting & strategy, content creation, education & training, and insights & analysis for businesses, large or small.  Social Media Facelift, LLC wants to take your business to the next level by integrating social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Google +, YouTube, and more to help establish your business and connections.

Contact Social Media Facelift, LLC today for a social media consultation at (480) 231-5582 or socialmediafacelift@gmail.com.

 

Social Media

How Can You Relate to Millennials in Social Media Marketing?

Leave a comment

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Dan Gray, Office Operations Manager of the West Market Area for Ford Motor Company. He stated that he attended a Brand Innovations Conference with a focus on Millennial Marketing, which spurred a conversation. How do millennials want to be marketed to? How can you reach Gen Y when it comes to consumer marketing and social media strategy?

We discussed many options and strategies, however what they all had in common was to have a human element. Millennials want to be engaged and to have the ability to connect with someone who is real. They like authenticity and someone who they can relate to. Visuals, such as graphics and video, pertain to millennials (or the millennial mindset) because there is a personal value to each.

Adding in from my past, I explained that I was previously employed as the marketing/social media manager for a corporate restaurant. For the social media strategy, rather than just using the stock photos of employees or models, I managed shifts with a camera in my pocket to take live shots of the employees to post on social media. Sometimes I brought in props as well, asking myself, “what can the audience relate to?”

Of course, each corporate chain is different in allowing photos taken to be posted to franchised stores’ social media. However, we saw a large increase in reach, likes, and consumer engagement across our social media platforms. Why? Because consumers want to be able to relate. They want to see their favorite waitress featured on the site, rather than someone who they may never meet. They want that “hometown feeling”.

We captured reactions of teams winning on video and waitresses hard at work while still having fun. Those were true feelings and moments people could relate to. The same goes for the millennial mindset. Building something that they can connect and relate to strengthens the marketing.

In relation, how many times do you get an automated message, rather than a live voice on the phone? It frustrates just about everyone. Why would you want to reflect an automated message online? Be able to relate, be authentic, and be human.

What is one thing about the millennial mindset that brands could learn from?

Social Media Facelift, LLC provides social media account setup & management, consulting & strategy, content creation, education & training, and insights & analysis for businesses, large or small.  Social Media Facelift, LLC wants to take your business to the next level by integrating social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Google +, YouTube, and more to help establish your business and connections.

Contact Social Media Facelift, LLC today for a social media consultation at (480) 231-5582 or socialmediafacelift@gmail.com.

Business

You Are A Millennial, So What?

Leave a comment

Being a millennial has been a growing subject in the Gen X and Gen Y debate. Do you actually have to be a millennial physically or can you have a millennial mindset? What does the mindset consist of? Is the workplace really evolving because of this?

Millennials have often been put down as thinking that they are “entitled”, “need flexibility”, have been babied or spoiled, and the list goes on. Gen X’s place judgment on Gen Y’s in the workplace, however is it just because they are not susceptible to change? In today’s day and age, technology is advancing, and with that, systems, mindsets, and ways to work are evolving. If you are not on board for change, you better hang on tight!

As a millennial, I fall into the “work from home, flexible” work life. That doesn’t mean that I don’t work hard, however that doesn’t mean I don’t have fun. I believe that happiness constitutes for what you are doing in life, and if you are not happy with what you are doing, you cannot do it successfully. I look at elders who are stuck in dead-end careers, miserable. Who would want to be miserable in a life that you on live once?

Millennials may have a new way to work, however who is to say that it is not actually the right way to work? Advances in wearable tech and technology shows the direction we are headed in the future in terms of leadership, business, and the overall workplace. From ways to learn to ways to teach, millennials consider change as part of the agenda. Building an adaptable working environment where employees can be happy, connected, and successful is key.

If you don’t change your ways, you might as well use a quill pen and papyrus scroll and assume nothing will get better than that.

How would you like to have the convenience of staying home with your child because he or she has the flu and not missing a thing in the office because of the accessibility of video conferences and hangouts? It’s a new way of working and a way workplaces could evolve. It takes into account that we are all humans and unexpected things happen. Taking it to a new level and showing that you care will create a positive moral and working structure. Changes like this, as simple as it may be, could lead to bigger changes in the future.

I don’t want to speak for all millennials, but it is not my goal in life to run all Gen X’s out of the workplace to adhere to a Gen Y agenda. However, I would hope over time, all would accept a change and to slowly integrate new ways to work in the work environment. Account for all of the positives, and set aside things that didn’t work. Change is not always a bad thing. Sometimes one small change is all you need to begin on the road to success.

#EmbraceChange: What is one thing that you would like to see evolve in the workplace?

Social Media Facelift, LLC provides social media account setup & management, consulting & strategy, content creation, education & training, and insights & analysis for businesses, large or small.  Social Media Facelift, LLC wants to take your business to the next level by integrating social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Google +, YouTube, and more to help establish your business and connections.

Contact Social Media Facelift, LLC today for a social media consultation at (480) 231-5582 or socialmediafacelift@gmail.com.