Scott Monty – the social media brain behind Ford Motor Company as of recent – just tweeted. He linked to an article about the new Ford Taurus account on Twitter, and how all the posts are currently automated until they find adequate staffing resources.
Should interns get the keys to the social media machine? Weigh in here: http://scottwesterman.com/?p=1288
The public reply by Scott Westerman makes perfect sense, and I have to agree with the points he makes. To make things more simple, I figured I’d outline my take on my own blog, versus a comment on Scott’s.
I’ve had a fantastic “real-world” internship experience at AOL this summer. Do I want to stay there after I graduate? Well, I don’t know yet. Either way, although I’m young and new to the corporate world, I’ve been trusted with some monstrous projects. I’ve been included in huge meetings. I’ve videoconferenced and emailed directly with AOL’s CEO, Tim Armstrong, and heads of two divisions, Media and Mobile.
One of said projects is, effectively, turning around the Twitter account and social media branding for my division, AOL Jobs. We’ve done some cool stuff so far, and my message to coworkers has been “personalization!” People like talking to people, not robots.
Our Twitter account was exclusively being handled by “Twitterfeed,” a website that links to your account and automatically posts tweets based on your blog’s RSS feed. Since AOL Jobs’ articles do comprise a RSS feed, it all worked.
Someone set this up at least a year ago, and they don’t work in the division anymore. We are trying to remove this “functionality” because it’s had devastating effects on our efforts. You see, Twitter is selective about search results, and trending topics, and so on. I’ve had to research their rules for “how to trend and show up in search” because we were not.
Long story short, if your account is exclusively automated, you will be banned from trending and search unless you submit a trouble ticket and ask nicely to be included again. And then you have to post things that are not automated to redeem yourself. That’s where I come in. It’s a work in progress, but we’re getting there.
So, Scott, why AREN’T you using an intern? Us young folks love this social media stuff – our iPhones, Droids and Crackberries are the first thing we see in the morning and the last thing we see at night. Really. You want a fresh perspective, get someone my age in with your company and have them handle Tweeting.
We know how to make things trend, how to effectively search, and how to say a whole lot of good things in just 140 characters. We do things now and don’t like to wait. We embody the concept of Twitter – at least, those of us who embrace it do. I admit, many of my friends still don’t “get it” – but those who do are using it effectively.
Sure, the intern crowd is young, but those of us who know our stuff are valuable and a great commodity to companies such as AOL and Ford Motor Company. I was hired specifically because AOL Jobs wanted a fresh perspective on what they’re doing this summer.
I really love what FMC is doing on Facebook, Twitter and so on. You guys are doing it well and you’re doing it right. It’s obvious that you, Scott, and those on your team really have a vision for what you want to accomplish, and believe in said vision as well as the company and its’ products.
I’m not sure how I feel about Detroit… but I have strong opinions on Twitter and yes, Ford, too.
So, Scott, what do you think of what I’m saying? You asked for perspective, so there’s mine. I hope it helps you and your interns out.
And by the way – I’m graduating in May and if you can’t tell, think your team is really knocking it out of the park. It would be great to chat with you sometime and see if I could add anything to the FoMoCo social media efforts and strategies post-graduation.
For clarification, Scott’s post wasn’t a reply – it’s what I was replying to. And for perspective, would you expect us to put interns in charge of writing press releases or creating commercials? Or what about litigating lawsuits for us? Or completing a merger agreement? To suggest that we take communications any less seriously simply because the technology allows it is missing the point. You may “know your stuff” about the tools and platforms, but I can guarantee that you don’t understand business strategy or the finer points of the brand.
Interns can certainly learn by being part of the teams that handle any of these things. But to completely turn the keys over to them is the equivalent of a parent turning over the keys to a child who has yet to get his license.
Scott
(Forgive any typos – I’m on by Blackberry)
Thanks for the reply, Scott. And for the clarification – I wasn’t aware that Scott Westerman’s blog post was the starting point of the discussion. That makes a little more sense now.
Regarding putting interns in charge of other communications-based tasks – I agree that to have them lead those projects would not be a good idea. You are correct in suggesting that I’m not knowledgeable in business strategy – I like to think I understand some basics, but business is not my major and I’d hope that’s not a total hang-up for myself or the interns in your group. Everyone on these teams brings something to the table – for some, it’s the tools/platforms, for others, it’s sheer business knowledge.
I’m not suggesting that you take communications less seriously – yes, Twitter is a more informal means of communication, but it’s a tremendous branding mechanism. The reason it works is because Ford (and other large companies) is taking it seriously.
My team at AOL is very small, and as such, the social media strategies are mainly up to me and one other person. As an intern, it’s been great to be so in-depth right away. That said, I have conferred with Legal and do know what we can post on Twitter, so as to not de-value the brand.
The recommendation to allow interns access to the Twitter account(s) was not to say that you let them impulsively tweet their every thought about the Ford Taurus. What I’m saying is that provided they follow proper (already established, I’m sure) guidelines from your team and Legal, I don’t see what’s wrong in letting them contribute and interact to help positively build the brand surrounding the car.
Much as an intern or new hire would not produce a commercial on Day Two of their tenure, I would not expect you to turn them loose on Twitter so early on, either. They would first observe and learn how to properly do the task at hand, then hopefully be able to provide their input in some fashion when the next project of that nature came about.