Social Media has evolved. We knew it would and now it has.

Social can no longer be relegated only to the “young” staff person in your office. Nor can it show up only on the Intern’s job description. Social media has evolved from a “job” to a definitive “skill” I like what Jay Baer says on this subject:

As companies take more steps to “be” social, and incorporate social business initiatives alongside the more common and obvious social media marketing programs, employees from all divisions and departments will utilize “social” to be more effective, the same way they have historically used telephones, email and in-person meetings. – Jay Baer

It’s time for a more mature approach to social media. If you solely continue to rely on your intern for your company’s social media strategy and implementation you are running the risk of your company’s social voice being obliterated. This may sound harsh. It is harsh. Now, I totally understand you may have rockstar interns who “get” you and what you do. These are the types of folks who you want to pour into. Help them help others in the interwebs “get” you. But, on any given day, if you’ll take a look at the trending topics/hashtags of Twitter, you’ll quickly realize that just because someone knows how to use Twitter doesn’t mean they are fit to be your company on Twitter. Does that make sense?

Take pride in your social voice. Train your staff on what this means. Make sure everyone is on the same page as to what your business objectives are and the role that social and digital plays in this.

Social media is no longer just about likes, retweets, comments, followers and having more Facebook fans than then next guy. Social media is about adding value to your business. It’s about bringing in leads and more importantly bringing in sales. Social media success can be measured extremely effectively. Are you measuring success properly or are you still stuck in the rookie stage of “I need more fans!”?

Like I said before – It’s time for a more mature approach to social media. Don’t let just anyone do this for you.

Questions, comments, critiques? Comment below, friends!