Talented social media naturals are rare to find.
This article will explain the concept of social media naturals and why they could be an asset to your business.
As a digital strategist, I can often tell whether someone working at a company “gets” social media. In my experience, having a social media natural in charge of your brand accounts is more efficient.
How do you recognise a social media natural?
Here goes:
Social Media is Easy (For Some)
Having done my fair share of media training, I’ve learnt that most people have their preferred means of communication.
In many ways, social media has opened up a whole new array of human communication forms, thus increasing the chances for each of us to find a particular style of communication that suits our personality.
Social Media Naturals: Definition
Social Media Naturals
Here’s how to define social media naturals:
Social Media Natural = someone for whom it’s intuitive and effortless to communicate via social networks.
Please note: Social media naturals are not synonymous with influencers (i.e. digital personalities with online audiences). Influencers are often also social media naturals, but not all social media naturals are influencers.
Learn more: Social Media Naturals
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Sure, most online influencers are also social media naturals — but not all of them. Influencers are influential online because of their capability for social interaction and their ability to attract and entertain an audience.
Social media naturals don’t need large followings; they use social networks to connect deeply with other like-minded people around their passions and interests.
Read also: The Influencers in Public Relations
Why Social Media Naturals are Valuable
In future generations, almost everyone will be a social media natural. But until then, organisations will have to find — and hire! — them.
Hiring a social media influencer to execute the digital strategy can be a hit-or-miss enterprise. I’ve seen this several times from a close-up perspective.
Influencers tend to care mostly about their brands; for them, it’s always about positioning themselves in the marketplace. However, a niched social media natural can find an organisation with matching passions.
Identifying social media naturals within an organisation is often more straightforward than one might think. This is because they can’t stop constantly interacting on social media with the topic of their interest.
Many organisations have experts who are already using social media to discuss and connect, but no one might have invited them to contribute professionally to the organisation’s social media strategy.
How To Empower Social Media Naturals
When looking for a community manager, I always investigate their personal social media presence.
I’d look not for massive followings but for the ease of use, passion, and willingness to experiment. I’d look specifically for someone with no problems finding the right tonality for various social media situations.
Once within the organisation, I’d suggest creating a framework well-suited for social media naturals:
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PR Resource: Why We Share on Social Media
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses
Why We Share on Social Media
“People want to be loved; failing that admired; failing that feared; failing that hated and despised. They want to evoke some sort of sentiment. The soul shudders before oblivion and seeks connection at any price.”
— Hjalmar Söderberg (1869−1941), Swedish author
When we share on social media, we share for a reason. And that reason typically has something to do with ourselves:
If you can get social media to work for you, great. But you should also be mindful not to let the pressure get the better of you.
“A status update with no likes (or a clever tweet without retweets) becomes the equivalent of a joke met with silence. It must be rethought and rewritten. And so we don’t show our true selves online, but a mask designed to conform to the opinions of those around us.”
— Neil Strauss, Wall Street Journal
Learn more: The Narcissistic Principle: Why We Share on Social Media
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PR Resource: The Follower Contract
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses
The Follower Contract
How can brands better understand follower engagement? Think of every follow as an invisible contract.
Dear Brand,
Best regards,
Your New Follower
Think of every single follower, fan, and subscriber having such an agreement with your brand.
Learn more: The Follower Contract
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PR Resource: Influencers in Public Relations
Spin Academy | Online PR Courses
The Influencers in Public Relations
In PR, influencers are individuals who have managed to grow a substantial audience, which has the potential to affect a specific organisation either positively or negatively.
Influencers = independent content creators with influential platforms and followers of importance to the organisation. 2Silfwer, J. (2020, January 15). The Influencers in Public Relations. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/influencers-in-public-relations/
Establishing and maintaining good relationships with strategically chosen influencers for the organisation is often critically important.
“Influencers in public relations are emerging stakeholders who generate a state of opinion in the digital community that surpasses traditional public opinion.”
Source: The Role of Prosumers in the Interactive and Digital Processes of Public Relations 3Polo, M. (2020). The Role of Prosumers in the Interactive and Digital Processes of Public Relations. 161 – 174. https://doi.org/10.4018/978 – 1‑7998 – 3119‑8.ch012
How To Categorise Influencers
I recommend using the following tiers and naming conventions for categorising different types of influencers:
Learn more: The Influencers in Public Relations
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ANNOTATIONS
1 | Perhaps “social media” isn’t the best name. Because why shouldn’t a telephone be considered a medium for direct social interaction? Early on, social media used to encompass search engines, blogs, and forums, but the scope of what the term includes has been narrowed down over time. |
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2 | Silfwer, J. (2020, January 15). The Influencers in Public Relations. Doctor Spin | The PR Blog. https://doctorspin.net/influencers-in-public-relations/ |
3 | Polo, M. (2020). The Role of Prosumers in the Interactive and Digital Processes of Public Relations. 161 – 174. https://doi.org/10.4018/978 – 1‑7998 – 3119‑8.ch012 |