Handing social media to the intern or junior

Key takeaways

Letting an intern or junior run social media alone is a mistake because using social media personally is a different skill from marketing a business on it. Without a goal, a brief, product knowledge and someone to answer buying questions, posts drift and enquiries are missed. With support and clear rules, a junior can do it well.

• Personal social skills are not the same as business marketing skills.
• Juniors need a goal, a brief and a voice guide.
• Buying questions need someone who knows prices and availability.
• Access must stay with the business when they leave.

Why is it a common mistake?

It is common because juniors are often the most comfortable on social media and the cheapest hours available. But knowing how to post is not the same as knowing who the buyer is, what sells, what the rules are and how to reply to a complaint. Those come from the business.

• The most common social media marketing mistakes small businesses make
• Why small businesses fail at social media marketing

What goes wrong without support?

Without support, posts follow trends rather than buyers, the voice wobbles, complaints get casual replies, prices are guessed in comments, and the account goes quiet when the junior leaves. Sometimes the junior is the only admin.

• Social media account access mistakes: who holds the keys?

What support does a junior need?

A junior needs a written goal and buyer, a voice guide, a list of what not to post, a named senior to answer buying and complaint questions quickly, a weekly check-in and admin access held by the business.

• Goal, buyer and voice guide.
• What not to post.
• A senior contact for buying questions.
• A weekly 15-minute check-in.
• Business-owned admin access.

When can a junior run it well?

A junior can run social media well with that support, especially creating content, posting and day-to-day engagement. Many grow into strong marketers. The mistake is leaving them alone, not giving them the job.

How do you spot that a junior needs more support?

A junior needs more support when posts drift towards trends rather than buyers, when price or availability questions get vague answers, when complaints are handled casually and when they are the only admin. None of these is a failing of the person; they are gaps in the brief and support around them.

• Posts chasing trends over buyers.
• Vague answers to price questions.
• Casual replies to complaints.
• The junior is the only admin.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a junior posting trends and memes that do well with friends but bring no enquiries, and answering price questions with guesses. A brief, a voice guide and a weekly check-in with the owner usually turns the same energy towards buyers.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Junior support checklist

• Write the goal and buyer down.
• Give a voice guide and rules.
• Name a senior for buying questions.
• Hold a weekly check-in.
• Keep admin access with the business.

• Doing your own social media: the mistakes owners make
• Mistakes to avoid when hiring a social media agency

Next step

If a junior runs your social media, sit down this week and agree the goal, buyer and who answers buying questions.