Social Media Must Be Managed

The online social space is not a playground.

Cover photo: @jerrysilfwer

tl:dr;
Social media must be managed. For some, it is an easy-going playground far removed from everyday life. However, for organisations, social media is very real.

Social media must be managed.

For some, social media is an easy-going play­ground far removed from every­day life. However, for organ­isa­tions, the online social space is very real.

And social media must be managed.

Here we go:

Social Media Must Be Managed

Today’s ongo­ing amp­li­fic­a­tion of sen­sa­tion­al­ism, i.e. the silent switch, has pro­found implic­a­tions for the pub­lic rela­tions function:

Many organ­isa­tions have spent ser­i­ous resources build­ing trust and attract­ing sub­scribers, fans, and fol­low­ers on social media. But the value of hav­ing sub­scribers, fans, and fol­low­ers is quickly eroding.

As PR pro­fes­sion­als, we must be rational. 

We could com­pare the situ­ation to our long-stand­ing rela­tion­ship with tra­di­tion­al news media. Traditional news media is power­ful but imper­fect, so PR pro­fes­sion­als must man­age it. The same goes for social media.

It’s not our place as pro­fes­sion­al com­mu­nic­at­ors to tell journ­al­ists how to do their jobs, just as it isn’t our place to tell social net­works or con­tent cre­at­ors how to do theirs.

If any­thing, we should be more ser­i­ous about the import­ance of social media man­age­ment.

Because social media must be managed.

As PR pro­fes­sion­als, our job is to help organ­isa­tions com­mu­nic­ate effi­ciently dur­ing these times of con­stant change.

Today, social media man­age­ment is crit­ic­al for organ­isa­tions aim­ing to engage effect­ively with their pub­lics, man­age their brand, and nav­ig­ate the com­plex land­scape of online com­mu­nic­a­tion. This involves vari­ous activ­it­ies, from con­tent cre­ation to stra­tegic com­mu­nic­a­tion and repu­ta­tion management.

Chris Brogan

Social media puts the pub­lic into PR and the mar­ket into marketing.”

Learn more: Social Media Must Be Managed

Social Media Myths in PR

Social media has become a cru­cial part of brand strategy, but there are sev­er­al myths and mis­con­cep­tions about its usage for brands. 

Here are 10 com­mon myths:

  • “Social media is free and easy.” While set­ting up pro­files is free, man­aging social media requires time, effort, and often paid pro­mo­tions to engage and grow an audience.
  • “All social media plat­forms suit every brand.” Each plat­form has a unique audi­ence and style. What works on Instagram might not be effect­ive on LinkedIn. Brands must choose plat­forms that align with their tar­get audi­ence and brand image. 
  • “More fol­low­ers equals more suc­cess.” The num­ber of fol­low­ers is a van­ity met­ric. Engagement rates, con­ver­sions, and how fol­low­ers inter­act with con­tent are more import­ant indic­at­ors of suc­cess. 1Silfwer, J. (2025, January 30). Why Subscriber Counts Matter Less. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​u​b​s​c​r​i​b​e​r​-​c​o​u​n​t​s​-​m​a​t​t​e​r​-​l​e​ss/
  • “Negative com­ments should be deleted or ignored.” Negative feed­back is inev­it­able. How a brand responds to cri­ti­cism can sig­ni­fic­antly impact its repu­ta­tion. Addressing con­cerns trans­par­ently can improve brand credibility.
  • “Posting more often leads to more engage­ment.” Overposting can lead to audi­ence fatigue. It’s more effect­ive to focus on the qual­ity of con­tent rather than just quantity.
  • “Social media is only for young people.” While young­er demo­graph­ics are act­ive on social media, older gen­er­a­tions increas­ingly use these plat­forms. Brands should­n’t over­look the diversity of the social media audience.
  • “Viral con­tent is the key to suc­cess.” While vir­al con­tent can boost vis­ib­il­ity, it’s not a sus­tain­able or pre­dict­able strategy. Consistent and rel­ev­ant con­tent is more effect­ive for long-term engagement.
  • “Any con­tent will do.” Content needs to be tailored to the brand’s audi­ence. What res­on­ates with one group might not work for anoth­er. 2Silfwer, J. (2022, September 22). “For Content!”. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​f​o​r​-​c​o​n​t​e​nt/
  • “Immediate sales should be the primary focus.” While sales are sig­ni­fic­ant, social media is also about build­ing rela­tion­ships, brand aware­ness, and com­munity engagement.
  • “Social media res­ults are imme­di­ate.” Developing a robust social media pres­ence requires time. Patience and per­sist­ence are essen­tial for reap­ing the bene­fits of your efforts.

Learn more: Social Media Myths in PR


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Annotations
Annotations
1 Silfwer, J. (2025, January 30). Why Subscriber Counts Matter Less. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​s​u​b​s​c​r​i​b​e​r​-​c​o​u​n​t​s​-​m​a​t​t​e​r​-​l​e​ss/
2 Silfwer, J. (2022, September 22). “For Content!”. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://​doc​tor​spin​.net/​f​o​r​-​c​o​n​t​e​nt/
Jerry Silfwer
Jerry Silfwerhttps://doctorspin.net/
Jerry Silfwer, alias Doctor Spin, is an awarded senior adviser specialising in public relations and digital strategy. Currently CEO at Spin Factory and KIX Communication Index. Before that, he worked at Whispr Group NYC, Springtime PR, and Spotlight PR. Based in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Cover Photo

The cover photo isn't related to public relations obviously; it's just a photo of mine. Think of it as a 'decorative diversion', a subtle reminder that it's good to have hobbies outside work.

The cover photo has

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