Social Media Malpractice: Hijacking a Brand’s Social Account

It started with a move that a social media marketing manager (SMM) thought industry peers would rally behind. https://twitter.com/JoePompliano/status/1693619126814536068 The now-former SMM’s post from the NBA account about fair pay and balanced working hours took a turn for the worse when the noble cause that seemed to be behind hijacking the brand account became a vehicle for self-promotion. While his allegations were serious and worthy of the spotlight, what the individual did was commit social media manager malpractice: reveal his full name, contact information and (unserious) professional rates that are a swipe against the profession. We can hold two truths at the same time: This SMM was right to call out unfair pay and labor practices, but wrong in his approach. In a perfect world, these types of incidents can be avoided: senior leadership would be conducting regular check-ins and assessments of team morale and bandwidth; boundaries would be created and enforced on the time demands for all SMMs; SMMs would be viewed and respected as front-line brand ambassadors worthy of trust and care. Initially, the industry call-to-arms was around a cause worth of merit: How do we properly advocate for the fair wages and working conditions that we do not feel we are currently receiving? However, the SMM’s method of calling attention was a Trojan horse for his own personal brand-buildingdestroying. Going rogue from a brand’s account is not only a high-stakes act of impulsiveness, it is damaging to the trajectory of all social media managers. A bad rep The NBA has a vested interest in making sure this never happens again. Hopefully, that means they implement some pay and role changes, but for sure it means they will bring down a new, and cumbersome, set of security procedures around league social. As Chaka Cumberbatch, U.S. social lead at Google Pixel and a decade-plus industry veteran, put it, "This is going to affect everyone on the frontline of social at the NBA. The remaining social team, the copywriters, the creatives and every other team who touches social content, are going to have new layers of work added to their plate because the NBA will rightfully want to ensure this never happens again.” Social media managers are already fighting uphill battles to gain trust and approvals every day—incidents like this set back our collective efforts. If you’re trying to have a career in social, carving out a niche for yourself as an unreliable and unpredictable contract marketer can be detrimental now and down the road. Advocacy is noble and necessary. Do it from a personal platform or borrow the audience of others. Hijacking a brand account will only put a swift end to any change we wish to see, in addition to possibly your own career. Before you get on the social soapbox So what is the right way to advocate for change in the social media marketing industry? If you’re considering taking steps towards advocating for better pay or working conditions, consider the following three questions before taking action. Will this hurt someone?The brand, peers and your career trajectory could all potentially be impacted. This type of behavior is hard to scrub off your digital footprint and any hiring manager will see it as a liability. What change do I want to see happen and is this the best way?When the action is more radical than the ask, that becomes the story. Had this been expressed from a personal account, it could have still gone viral on LinkedIn and rallied support behind the fight for fair pay and hours. When trying to drive change, the best course is the one that causes the least collateral damage. Be seen as the hero and not someone having an outburst (even for all the right reasons) on the brand account. And certainly, avoid self-promotional language when making accusations. Who is going to see this, and what power do they have to enact that change?Would an NBA fan protest the league over how they treat social media managers? Probably not. This SMM took to Facebook to voice his outrage, however, this point would have been better made on LinkedIn, where SMMs across the industry gather and discuss these very issues. Without a method to the madness, the crush of views also led to the crush of his own message and career. If the right people saw this, the momentum of this post could have turned it into a movement, but right now it is just another reminder of the uphill battles and downfalls that come with this job. Looking for a New CMO? Look No Further Than Your Social Media Manager Nothing the former social media manager wrote about the SMM experience is invalid, especially in an industry like sports, where fans are often hired and then underpaid in the name of sports fandom and dedication. But when the tactics to highlight common issues in the social media management world turn to corporate sabotage and brandjacking without considering the implications, the result is an ecosystem of greater doubt, rather than respect, for anyone holding the “social media manager” title.