Howdy folks! Rebecca here, blogging regularly once again in SSDB fashion (that’s Same Snark, Different Blog for you initialism noobs). If you managed to pry yourself away from the month-long Michael Jackson tribute festivities, you may have heard via Twitter, the 10e20 blog, and intermittent smoke signals that I recently joined the 10e20 team as the Director of Social Media. I’ll let the fanfare die down before I proceed…
Anyway, Chris gave me a rundown of what my new job responsibilities would be and we spent roughly 4 seconds brainstorming a fancy-schmancy job title to slap onto business cards and confuse my mother (who still doesn’t know what I do for a living, only understanding that I had an old Internet-something job before and a new Internet-something job now). Thus, the Director of Social Media was conjured and it left me wondering what that even meant. Does social media need “directing”?
Growing up and getting quickly acclimated to sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, for me the answer is “no” because social media, web 2.0, all those buzz wordy trends seem pretty second nature (I’m sure moreso for younger generations who don’t know how to use a rotary phone and have never heard of the Walkman). But after talking to Greg and getting a feel for what 10e20 has done for their clients in the past and after thinking about it from a business perspective, I think yes, social media needs some direction.
A lot of people crap all over social media marketing because they think it’s just about getting some stupid list onto Digg. They talk about how it’s just a fad and that it’s oversaturated and doesn’t have the permanence that SEO or SEM do. I disagree (which is probably why Chris and Danielle hired me)–social media marketing isn’t just about hitting Digg or Reddit. Sure, viral marketing and StumbleUpon and all those other mainstays are a part of it, but the core of social media is about reaching out to your customers/audience and engaging them in a dialogue. It’s allowing their voice to be heard, whether that’s via blog comments, user generated content, tweets, upvoting stories or sharing content.
Social media is still a fairly new marketing tactic, which is why a lot of companies, much like with SEO, need some guidance. They understand that Twitter is this big new thing, but they don’t know how to set up an account and utilize it to its fullest potential. They want to make a video and share it/spread it around, but they don’t know the best way to go about doing it. They have great data and case studies, but they don’t know how to shape their content in a way that appeals to a large audience. And that’s where 10e20 and I come in. We help create, shape and direct these social media efforts through the appropriate channel. We help educate companies and people about various aspects of social media so that they can keep up with the ever-shifting marketing trends and have an edge over their competitors. And we look damn good doing it.
So yeah, I’m the Director of Social Media. It’s kind of different, but it’s also exciting and creative and, I think, absolutely essential in our current marketing environment. I’m really looking forward to taking a different approach to Internet marketing and helping our clients from the creative side of things rather than the technical. I’ll be sure to post often and share various tips, news, and, of course, rants about everything I learn in my new position. Hopefully you’ll let me direct you. 
26 Responses to “Does Social Media Need “Directing”?”
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Thanks for keeping us updated in social media marketing and gives new direction to understand how to get most from social media in effective manner
If social media had more "Directors" and less "Gurus", we'd all be better off.
@Rebecca,
So is your approach to simply consult clients on SMO strategy or to take the helm itself?
My opinion is that when an outside agency starts actually taking over the social media activity itself then it generally deflates the purpose and credibility of that campaign as well could cause misrepresentation & liability concerns.
,Michael Martin
I have nothing useful to share. i just echo what Dr. Pete said and I'm really excited you're blogging again. That's it.
Ditto what Lisa said.
Oh and congrats on the new job.
Hey Michael – thanks for the comment & question (I figured I would jump in and answer it
)
Our approach is that there isn't a set approach, it really depends on what the client needs and what their internal capabilities are. Sometimes we will provide a client with a strategy and advise them on how to execute. Other times we will help with that execution.
Hopefully that answers your question.
The intermittent smoke signals were my favorite part though
Great to have you on board Rebecca – looking forward to reading more and doing some great things together!
@Chris,
OK thats a smart approach – a lot of people are jumping in on the social media buzz as "experts" and approaching the slipperly slope of taking over the entire social media campaign which is not wise for most clients – IMHO.
PS – Look forward to seeing you again at PubCon / SMX
,Michael Martin
Definitely looking forward to seeing you at both Michael!
"You may have heard via Twitter, the 10e20 blog, and intermittent smoke signals that I recently joined the 10e20 team"
Actually, I heard through the grapevine that 10e20 had created and posted "a must see, giant glowing head banner", so only upon checking it out did I find out you landed in a new home.
Excited to see what you guys do to expand your Social Media offering.
The grapevine is one of the most overlooked forms of social media Sean
Rebecca – great post – looking forward to your contributions to 10e20!
-Lauren @beebow
They had already created the head banner and I didn't want it to go to waste, so I agreed to work for them. Giant head banners have an 87% success rate.
What Chris said.
welcome Rebecca, good to hae you blogging again. I want a t-shirt
Welcome to the new digs Rebecca, so will you be heading east as well?
[...] Does Social Media Need “Directing”?, 10e20 Blog [...]
Nope, my ass remains in Seattle.
I'll see what I can do.
Now the 10e20 Blog comes with Great Content and Great Snark…so much goodness in one little blog!! Congrats 10e20 and Congrats Becs!
I'd like to commend Lisa for being honest about having nothing useful to say. Too many people try to create crap out of thin air. I'm thankful she isn't one of them.
On the other hand, I want to commend Rebecca for making herself useful to 10e20. Way to go Becs!
(YIASFOC)
SWEET! Chris and Danielle (and of course 10e20) are awesome. Rebecca is awesome. It's like chocolate chip cookies and milk – a perfect pairing! Congrats!
Can't wait to see all the yummy goodness that comes out of this!
Ahaha, I think this is my favorite comment thus far.
Very true Dr.Pete, every one consider themselves a social media guru.
Great points, IMHO social media marketing requires quite a different skillset from traditional SEM, because the origination of traffic has more to do with a live reader's demographic/needs/wants, than a search engine's algorithmn.
In many ways, the best social media analysts are those with a psychology/sociological bent than a traditional comp sci/analytical background.
Kudos to the 10e20 team for scoring a great addition to the team and looking forward to some great posts.
[...] Does Social Media Need “Directing”? — here’s where I pull a ballsy move and ponder whether 10e20 even needed to hire me in the first place (spoiler alert: they did, and I’m glad) [...]