---
title: Is Your Social Media Intern Ready for Corporate Tweeting - 7 Questions to Find Out
description: Is Your Social Media Intern Ready for Corporate Tweeting - 7 Questions to Find Out
---

[Blog | Brainzooming ](https://www.brainzooming.com/blog)

# [Is Your Social Media Intern Ready for Corporate Tweeting - 7 Questions to Find Out](https://www.brainzooming.com/blog/is-your-social-media-intern-ready-for-corporate-tweeting-7-questions-to-find-out)

 Written by [Mike Brown](https://www.brainzooming.com/blog/author/mike-brown) | Mar 31, 2011 9:50:05 AM

**Whether outside agencies or social media interns should be responsible for corporate tweeting **and Facebook updating** is in the news **again. Recent [**problems faced by Chrysler and** a (now former) tweeter at a (now former) social media agency](http://mashable.com/2011/03/09/chrysler-drops-the-f-bomb-on-twitter/) and a [social media intern tweeting for **Marc Jacobs**](http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/another-twitter-meltdown-in-the-fashion-industry_b6301) both **reflect situations where** young, **conceivably social media-savvy individuals**,** took a real "walk off the ranch"** - as a senior executive I knew would have put it.  In the Chrysler case, it was using the F-bomb and impugning Detroit drivers. For the Marc Jacobs social media intern, it was a mini-rant blistering the CEO.

These cases re-raise the issue of **[what's really important when deciding who will create and send social media status updates](https://www.brainzooming.com/3-qualifications-for-driving-social-media-strategy/2057/) for an organization?**

<https://www.brainzooming.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Social-Media-Intern-FTW-3.jpg>Even if you believe youth is closely aligned with preparedness in using social media, there's much more required to be successful. **Possessing **a fair degree of **emotional intelligence is** obviously** just one** other **critical factor**.

Importantly, it's** also essential for your corporate tweeter to **[**be a strong representative for the brand OFFline **before trying to be one online](https://www.brainzooming.com/crippling-divisions-in-social-media-strategy/4085/). That requirement alone would suggest, "Let the intern do it," probably isn't the right answer when deciding who should handle corporate social media accounts.

While there are plenty of [tests online for emotional intelligence](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=844&q=emotional+intelligence+test&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=), **what can you do to check for the right degree of brand advocacy skills? **How about **a test for the offline brand attributes **a corporate tweeter needs as well?

Here's **my suggestion for an "Is Your Corporate Tweeter Ready?" test.  
**

Using a scale where 3 is "Completely trust them," 2 is "Somewhat trust them," and 1 is "OMG! I'd never trust them to do that!" **ask yourself if you'd depend on the person you're having (or considering having) do your corporate tweeting to**:

- **Actively participate in a sales call on **your **largest customer** or customer group?
- **Review your brand standards document** not only for typos but **for real strategic** brand **errors**?
- **Speak about your brand** and what it represents **to **a large group of **employees**?
- **Work** a** customer service **shift **unsupervised**?
- Credibly **summarize your business**, what you do, and **discuss its size, scope, and prospects with** a group of potential **investors**?
- **Have a conversation with a competitor without disclosing** any **proprietary **or otherwise competitively damaging **information **about your company?
- **Be interviewed by a** national (or even local) TV **reporter **who is **doing an unfavorable profile **about your company?

Total up the score. **How did your corporate tweeter do?**

Here's my recommendation for **evaluating the scores**:

- **18 - 21: **You have a** strong candidate to be handling social media updates** for your organization.
- **13 - 17: **This person has **real potential for social media success**, **but **there are some fundamental brand-related areas which **need development**.
- **12 or under: **Maybe this person's a blogger where you have time to edit and make sure they're aligned with your brand, but **don't put them behind a Twitter or Facebook account....EVER!**

**What do you think? **Are these the **right situations and scoring?**

And **do you have the right person tweeting for you? **- *[Mike Brown](https://www.brainzooming.com/category/?page_id=1197)*

 

[***The ***](https://www.brainzooming.com/category/?page_id=1188)***[Brainzooming](https://www.brainzooming.com/category/?page_id=1106) Group helps make smart organizations more successful by rapidly expanding their strategic options and creating innovative plans they can efficiently implement. Email us at *****[*brainzooming@gmail.com*](mailto:brainzooming@gmail.com?subject=Please%20contact%20us%21)***** or call 816-509-5320 to learn how we’ve developed  integrated social media strategy for other brands and can do the same for yours...even though we won't tweet for you.  
***

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