Skip the Skibidy: Why You Shouldn't Hire Your Kid to "Do Your Social Media"

Unless you are selling to young people, you don't need to sound young in order to reach your ideal client on social media.

And yet so many business owners and thought leaders I speak to insist in hiring young people, or their kids, to "do their social media". Many of these business owners and professionals have good intentions. But there are many ways in which you're doing your business and your social media team a disservice.

1. Just because someone is young doesn't mean they're expert creators. There are plenty of talents writers, videographers, photographers, and editors who are in this space and have had to learn their craft entirely on their own. Social media is a relatively new media space, which means there is not enough mentorship and knowledge-sharing. I am a highly skilled writer and creator today because I have had the chance to learn from more experienced writers and producers. I honed my craft working in network television. Creative mentorship is vital to the long-term success of any media platform. When you hire someone at the beginning of their creative career, who is offering them this vital mentorship? Where are they upskilling? If you're not prepared, or even qualified, to offer this guidance, how do you expect things to improve in the long term?

2. It's a myth that hiring your kid to "do your social media" will set them up to one day work at a social media agency. I heard this from a colleague recently and while I appreciate the good intentions behind this, the execution is flawed. Your kid is going to learn your social media: your style, your voice, your tone. They're going to create content that fits your metrics. But clearly you are not someone who will ever invest thousands of dollars a month for a social media campaign. Which means your kid is learning habits and standards that a social media agency does not need. They're looking for clients who WILL invest thousands of dollars a month for social media campaigns. Specifically campaigns that speak to you a younger demographic. Your kid is actually better off creating their own content and contributing to the culture and language of their generation.

3. Which brings me to my final point: let young creators be young. If you insist on hiring young people with little to no professional experience, know you will spend a lot of mental labor training them to be more professional. Or, you could hire someone with more experience who is leading a team of young creatives, and get the content you want for your brand.

Every business decision is a balance of investing time and money. When it comes to nurturing the talent of future creatives, what you save in money, you pay in your time. And in some cases, the long-term creative development of your young creator.