Why executives hate social media

How convenient. For Adam Alter, a psychologist and the author of Irresistible , an examination of technology addiction, it is almost beside the point whether social media makes you happy or sad in the short term. The deeper issue is that your usage is compulsive — or even addictive. Not many of us have substance addictions, but the way the world works today there are many, many behaviours that are hard for us to resist and a lot of us develop self-undermining attachments to those behaviours that border on or become addictions.

As the Guardian reported in October , a growing number of coders and designers are quitting their jobs in disillusionment at what their work entails. Others have had the same realisation, but have decided to embrace the awkwardness — such as LA-based retention consultants Dopamine Labs. It takes humans to make sure that the things that you do with it are good. And it takes humans in the development process to make sure the creation of the product is a good thing.

It is not only children. That is certainly how I feel about Twitter. I have tried to cut back, after realising how much of my time was spent staring at a scrolling feed of aphorisms ranging from mildly amusing to vaguely traumatic. I removed the apps from my phone and my computer, forcing any interaction through the web browser. I have taken repeated breaks.

But I keep coming back. It is one thing to be a child with a protective parent keeping technology away from you. I am not alone in struggling. Kevin Holesh, a freelance app developer, is one of those who tried to cut back. Pitfalls exist - as with any kind of tool, be it IT or not - but there are ways to circumvent the problems so as to reap more benefits from this new way of communicating, more direct, more open, and geared towards direct open innovation with clients, partners and your ecosystem at large.

If you manage to avoid misusing some of these tools and remained focussed on your business objectives, social media can then be a powerful ally to you marketing strategy. And don't forget that rational answers to irrational fears exist too, so that you can focus on looking at the half-full glass of social marketing. I specialize in information systems, HighTech marketing and Web marketing.

As such, I contribute regularly on this blog for Orange Business Services account on cloud computing and cloud storage topics. Far too often, social media is an afterthought. However, social media is thrown under the bus far too often. Dealing with micromanagement from people with far less experience. Support from them is often appreciated, but not when it turns into them telling social media managers what to do.

A collaborative approach works far better, and it allows social media staff the freedom to do what works best. Do not force them to do things they know will not work, and do not go against their expertise. In the grand scheme of things, social media is still relatively new, and a lot of senior management will be unfamiliar with how it works. Trust us, making a good post with over 50, retweets is an absolute dream. Do you know why those posts go viral?

Send us a blog post about a work trip to the beach, and we might be able to get you 3 likes probably from the team who went on the trip. All social media managers can do is craft a post to the best of their ability, use their expertise to effectively share the content and hope it performs well.

The best thing you can do is offer support to a social media manager. They may not be able to make something go viral, but they can increase its effectiveness with a little help. Provide plenty of information, answer any questions they have, and trust in their ability to effectively create content.

Random branded hashtags. Has the hashtag ever been used before, and if so how was it used? Is the hashtag easy to say and understand?

Will it fit seamlessly alongside other marketing materials? Sometimes the perfect hashtag comes to mind instantly, sometimes it can take a little while to figure out.

People outside of the social media team will sometimes create hashtags for the company, and the intentions are great. Sometimes, the hashtag is perfect. Sometimes…not so much. Before you know it, this new hashtag is on posters, flyers, branded pencils, pop-up banners, and those little fluffy things with googly eyes. You may also want to discuss the process of using the hashtag, including any research involved. If you work in an organisation and want to use a hashtag, please speak to the social media team first.

Everybody jumping on the TikTok train. One reason not all social media professionals are rushing to TikTok is because they want a solid grasp of the platform first.