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Hello all,
I work for a small (60 person) company in a tech sector. Our marketing bod (who is a decent guy) uses social media (Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin) to try to "build our brand" and has asked people to share this content on their own social media accounts.
This is fair enough I guess but our recently appointed Sales/Marketing director has just sent an email which strongly encourages this stating that he wants reports and "league tables" of who has shared what.
My instinctive response to this is "Sod you!" and not to share anything.
I feel that my personal social media is my own and that I should not be dictated too in this way. I am not a prolific poster and use it mainly to keep in contact with remote family members none of whom would be interested in this content.
Opinions needed on whether it is worth making a stand on this or just doing it and then not worrying about it.
Don’t share anything, you’re not obilged to.
Post once
Send message to all your friends getting them to block any future post for that brand
Post away all future stuff knowing it isn't going to clog up your friends feeds
FB is being ruined by all these work posts nowadays 🙁
Doesn't really seem like 'your friends and family' the key target market for the company. Whats the point in targeting marketing specifically at people who are entirely disinterested.
Tell him that you are all sharing private things with the company, you expect to be given a night of deviant passion with his wife, and that you'll be creating a league table.
Nearly forgot, you'll need a report with pictures and a pie chart or two as well.
I'm happy to use twitter for work shares and my linked in but the Facebook is off limits. A polite piss off reply would be coming
A 'pie chart' in the context of the rest of that post is quite an unsettling image.
Don't share.
Someone (company high up bureaucrats several of them) once asked me to share mybookface with others but when I replied that I did not have social media they were surprised ... I mean what is there to surprise?
Two accounts.
Your company should have a social media policy (or should establish one).
if you post for that company or identify with it then your social media is effectively a work account. Should someone post something to your profile that is disparaging about the company or shows you in a bad light then you will get in trouble.
this is what LinkedIn is for. Like it and promote it on the "professional" social network. IMO it is the only place you can justify that type of activity.
also it is advisable to have all work people on a restricted profile if at all on Facebook.
report with pictures and a pie chart
Same thing.
I’m in charge of all our sales and marketing in work, I don’t spam my friends with what I do, I’ll actively unfollow/block/unfriend people who do.
My advice?
First and foremost, make your SM stuff private, it’s a bloody minefield at the moment and people can and have been sacked for saying perfectly reasonable things, during their own time, to their friends and family because that information has been published “publicly”. Set your FB so only friends see your output, not ‘friends of friends’ or ‘public’. Insta / Twitter is less of an issue as most people don’t use their own name, keep it that way.
As for your social media manager - he sounds a bit shit. “Tech Sector” like us, so I assume B2B not consumer facing? Then he’s targeting the wrong market, probably to justify his existence when everyone’s Aunty Mable likes and shares the latest ad for the latest Military Spec Semiconductors it looks like there’s something happening.
If you want to use SM for business, open a LinkedIn account and do it honestly and to the right audience.
Now you’ve got a private FB account, assuming you’ve not befriended the SM guy, politely state “you don’t use it much” and leave it at that.
Alternatively you could post to Facebook then have someone tag/reply to the post with something about sex toys or the like. I guess they should be able set permissions so that it is not visible to everyone or they can post, take snapshot then delete everything.
fair enough on linked in but bot on purely social stuff, unless you are personally involved with the company (eg co-owner or it's a charity you feel strongly about etc etc)
Just share loads of company stuff like sales figures and profit margins.
They’ll soon ask you to stop
Thanks everyone - lots of good advice especially from P-Jay.
I think they literally just want numbers of share/likes which, as has been stated, is daft as the company is very much b2b rather than b2c.
I will share on linkin and leave it at that.
Can of worms. Our companies trying to do a similar thing, I get why, but as mentioned it's not a very targeted approach.
Personally I avoid this kind of bluring of the edges of work /life, more hassle than it's worth.
My instinctive response to this is “Sod you!” and not to share anything.
This. You want me to promote the company in my own personal time? Sure. I'll send you my overtime claim.
The notion on a league table is insane. "Sorry, I'm not on Twitter or Facebook, have a nice day."
Your company should have a social media policy (or should establish one).
Also, this. They're encouraging a dangerous situation here. Do you really want Sean from Logistics retweeting work messages in between photos of his coke & hooker nights and retweeting EDL posts?
Should someone post something to your profile that is disparaging about the company or shows you in a bad light then you will get in trouble.
Horwe shit alert!
Have you not already started sharing on social media with this thread?
Nah, I’d be telling them to jog on.
if they want you to do anything at all outside work then they need to pay you, you’re an employee, you get paid to work.
dont lie and say you don’t have an account, just tell them you will need to bill them for any activity.
i presume your wages would be docked if you took a day off?
Do you really want Sean from Logistics retweeting work messages in between photos of his coke & hooker nights and retweeting EDL posts?
We we had to sign something to the effect that if we chose to associate ourselves with the company online we are responsible for maintaining the corporate image (even once you left the company). If it was found that you social media was out of line or damaged the company you would be held responsible and could end up out of pocket. Similar things could happen if you got pissed up in company logoed shirt and got in trouble.
Just don’t befriend any work colleagues or your work on FB, easy. I’ve done that for the last 10 years and have no issues. And if you are friends with them unfriendly them.
^I’d go with CFH’s second account suggestion, unless all your colleagues are equally against the idea and it is quietly shelved.
Would be worth taking up the social media policy point if you want to upset the Sales Director.
Much they paying you per item shared?
As for your social media manager – he sounds a bit shit. “Tech Sector” like us, so I assume B2B not consumer facing? Then he’s targeting the wrong market, probably to justify his existence when everyone’s Aunty Mable likes and shares the latest ad for the latest Military Spec Semiconductors it looks like there’s something happening.
Exactly my first thought.
Ignore the fool! 😆
Just tag your Marketing director in every minuscule element of your day,
#coffeebreak #digestivebiscuits #toiletpurge
Just quit Facebook. Result is you get a bit of your life back and work can’t hassle you. Job jobbed.
set up a dummy account and share the shit out of everything
... with your zero followers
Or set up a dummy account friend everyone at work then you can all generate masses of likes and clicks without bothering anyone else
My first rule of Facebook is never be friends with anyone from work. My second rule is to lock your profile down so no one from work can see your Facebook profile. Served me well for years.
As per a comment above everywhere I have worked has a social media policy which forbids ‘sullying’ the conpany name but if you share work content and then that is somehow one post above that one about the night out you and the boys had in Thailand then you could fall foul (for example).
Never mix work and pleasure. Doesn’t end well. If they insist then ask for their SM policy in writing and ask they confirm you will not fall foul of any of it. Or tell them to **** off.
Oh dear, sounds like social media man is being bonus set on how 'social' the team are, and by social I mean sharing their 'stuff' as opposed to actually talking to people like in real life ... ho hum.
On the LinkedIn 'thing' that is a world I know really well and for gods sake don't make a second account there, it breaks the rules and you could get all sorts of hassles, both accounts deleted etc so don't go there.
I'd only ever share 'stuff' that I would say or share in real life over a coffee type conversation not the hand up the back from the Marketing Director or Social Media person - just be you, you're the best at that 😉 and if you wouldn't talk work stuff then don't - not even on LinkedIn.
All that BS from social leads about sharing and liking stuff within LinkedIn is just for numbers and they don't really understand how it works I am afraid, for example LinkedIn isn't even a social media channel .. ho hum.
Tell them politely you don't do it and move along quietly back to reality.
James
As above. I don't lock down my FB, just assume that it may one day be seen by someone I want to work with (I have very minimal belief in 'security'), so it's pretty anodyne.
LinkedIn is the place to share work stuff. It's good for you (and your next job) to publish posts and the occasional article. You also get kudos for industry knowledge / expertise so it's win win.
dont lie and say you don’t have an account
It's none of their business either way. Don't lie, say "I'm not telling you."
Do as they ask, share lots and frequently.
Put in an overtime claim for the time spent doing this.
It sounds like you need a new Sales/Marketing director, it doesn't sound like he understands either your company's target market or how to use SM effectively.
Be sure to share the hotel room pics from your weekend away with the SM manager's wife.
Put in an overtime claim for the time spent doing this.
Id watch out in case they spot you using sm during your working hours.... Of course nobody does that.
The bigger point is of course the person has no idea how this works productively and just likes big numbers.
Put
"Promotional Tweet"
at the start of every tweet with your company name in it and add 'Promotional Tweets are not endorsements' in your profile.
Realistically: get a second account to do it from freind/follow people who are work colleagues and no one else. No way I want my company name interspersed with me talking crap with friends, sharing workfails or dissing Donald Trump.
100% no
On FB it says I work for Toys'r'us and have done since I got on there.
I have never worked there. Work is not part of my social media.