7 Social Media Blunders Executives Make (And How To Avoid Them).
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 6:55 am
I came to this conclusion after reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s excellent book Jab, Jab, Jab Jab, Right Hook (I haven't been paid to promote it - I simply think it's great).
Before following Vaynerchuk, I thought I was pretty savvy about social media.
After a few weeks learning strategies from his book and keynotes, I realised I have an incredible amount of room for improvement.
Jumping At The Opportunity.
It’s an exciting discovery for me, because I now see new possibilities for reaching people through social media and making a difference to their careers. In other words, I can see new ways of delivering more value to my niche.
Today I want to share some of the lessons I’ve learned with you because I want you to be effective at reaching your crowd.
Executive roles are intrinsically social and, if you’re a career executive, social media platforms now provide a layer of digital plumbing that you can use to make yourself more effective at your job.
1. Wrong Context.
It’s tempting to think of social media as an unpleasant, time-consuming and yet necessary activity which is an add-on to your “real” job.
Social media activity, framed within this context, is usually relegated to a series of south africa phone number library self-centred and irregular posts which are done “when I have the time”.
What I’ve found to resonate with me the most is Vaynerchuk’s idea that in 2014 and beyond, any executive can think of themselves, first and foremost, as a small media company.
2. Wrong Purpose.
The purpose of your little media company is to become a voice for an idea that you stand for, are intrinsically passionate about and which forms part of your core competencies in your job.
For example, a project manager can look at solving leadership problems within the building industry and a senior account manager can be an expert in B2B sales to Fortune 500 companies.
In this context, creating and posting valuable and shareable content is an organic (not to mention interesting) extension of your job.
Before following Vaynerchuk, I thought I was pretty savvy about social media.
After a few weeks learning strategies from his book and keynotes, I realised I have an incredible amount of room for improvement.
Jumping At The Opportunity.
It’s an exciting discovery for me, because I now see new possibilities for reaching people through social media and making a difference to their careers. In other words, I can see new ways of delivering more value to my niche.
Today I want to share some of the lessons I’ve learned with you because I want you to be effective at reaching your crowd.
Executive roles are intrinsically social and, if you’re a career executive, social media platforms now provide a layer of digital plumbing that you can use to make yourself more effective at your job.
1. Wrong Context.
It’s tempting to think of social media as an unpleasant, time-consuming and yet necessary activity which is an add-on to your “real” job.
Social media activity, framed within this context, is usually relegated to a series of south africa phone number library self-centred and irregular posts which are done “when I have the time”.
What I’ve found to resonate with me the most is Vaynerchuk’s idea that in 2014 and beyond, any executive can think of themselves, first and foremost, as a small media company.
2. Wrong Purpose.
The purpose of your little media company is to become a voice for an idea that you stand for, are intrinsically passionate about and which forms part of your core competencies in your job.
For example, a project manager can look at solving leadership problems within the building industry and a senior account manager can be an expert in B2B sales to Fortune 500 companies.
In this context, creating and posting valuable and shareable content is an organic (not to mention interesting) extension of your job.