10 signs your manager doesn't get social media

Social has turned the corner from interesting to imperative. However, some business leaders are reluctant to explore how business getting social might benefit their organisation. They believe that social media isn't relevant for their organisation or that it's just a “consumer thing” and only marketing needs to pay attention. They make statements that imply that social media is dangerous – statements which, upon examination, often reveal a misunderstanding of how all businesses are being changed by social.

To poke a little fun at the topic, we pulled together a top 10 list of our 'favourite' statements about social media. Hopefully, you won't recognise anything your management says about social on the list. But if you do, it's an indication that maybe they don't yet quite understand the upside of social. We hope this top 10 list will make you chuckle. But don't forget that underlying every statement is a perception that needs to be dealt with.

The top 10 signals that your management just doesn't ''get'' social media are:

10. They start telling you anecdotes about how their children use social media, then start shaking their heads.

9. They get somebody to ghost write their blogs.

8. They ban access to social media because people will waste time or “someone might say something bad about us”.

7. They say, “Our customers are over 40, so they aren't on Facebook or Twitter”.

6. They put a summer intern in charge of the social media ''project''.

5. They ask, “Why do I need input from social media? All the really smart people already work for us”.

4. They say, “Show me an enterprise that increased its revenue by using social communications”.

3. They don't define the purpose, but want to try ''something'' to ''see what happens''.

2. They insist that every communication be approved before it's posted on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, or other social networking site.

1. They think that creating a Facebook fan page is a social media strategy.

Let's hope you don't hear too many of the above statements in your own company, but if you do, remember that business getting social is inevitable. Educate yourself and the senior leaders in your organisation about how social media is being used to enhance interactions with employees, business partners, customers, prospects and the social web. Search out good ideas, and adapt them to make them work for you.

Carol Rozwell is a vice president and distinguished analyst on Gartner's Content, Collaboration and Social team.