Ghost writers for your social media content?
Different marketers will give you different advice as to whether or not the head of a company should be the voice of the company on a blog, twitter, or other social media. One school of thought states that if the owner/CEO has the time to tweet, s/he isn’t working hard enough at the helm. Others say that if you’re truly a thought leader, you should be the voice of the company.
I personally believe there is no “one size fits all” approach to social media. Integrated marketing communication strategies advocates a total approach to marketing – first decide what your company culture will be, then develop your marketing (including social media) strategies around that idea. If your company’s culture advocates transparency, someone else writing your company blog (even as a ghost writer) is a betrayal of that transparency.
Social Media Today recently ran an article discussing a gentleman who hired an outside company to “ghost tweet” for him while he was away at a conference (http://bit.ly/cMfHlI). A central question of the article, besides the ethics of the idea, was whether or not you need to tweet at all at times?
I again think the answer lies in your overall company strategy. Sometimes the CEO should blog. Sometimes the strategy is one of listening. Sometimes (especially in a creatively focused company) there should be many voices.
I believe in authenticity. Integrated marketing communication strategies are about developing a central message around your product or service, and using business and marketing strategies to reinforce that message.
For something like this I say NO NO NO.
Why not share the information you’re getting at the conference?
While your company’s social media voice may not be the CEO, it does need to be someone who is invested in the company, believes in the service/product and has the networking/communication skills to effectively engage in the space.
Radio silence, IMO, leads people to stop coming back to check on your company. Most people don’t seek out the quiet person at a party – they’re attracted to the engaging, outgoing person.