11 Qualities of an Effective Social-Media Manager

4. Has experience in online communications

Just because someone is 19 and came of age using Facebook in his personal life does not mean that he can manage and implement your online communities on social-media sites successfully. Untrained interns were fine two or three years ago, when the social Web was still in its infancy and everyone was experimenting. But that era is over. The truth is, in terms of results in social media, you get what you pay for, and if you want the best person for the job, you need someone who has at least a year or two of professional experience in Web 1.0. He needs to have written content for the Web, published an e-newsletter, blogged and experimented with various online fundraising campaigns. It's rare that someone with no background in online communication or fundraising instinctively understands how to use social media to build an online brand.