Tweeting on Behalf of Another

So, I have slowly been trying to get myself into volunteering with a candidate’s campaign for congress helping out with social media. I have not had a chance to jump right in, which is understandable because this isn’t like tweeting my new favorite restaurant or my current activity, this is tweeting things that could supposedly get a man elected (or not) into a government office.

Now, I have sent tweets on behalf of companies before and have always been rather relaxed about it because for some reason I felt like the tension wasn’t cranked as high. While at the companies it was always post something that aligned with the industry that the company was in and you are pretty much fine. It seems now after thinking more about it and reflecting on a previous post about having an intern at the helm of your ship … maybe I was wrong.

Maybe there isn’t a difference in representing a person running for office and a company. Both have reputations that can be tarnished, both have belief systems, both have values. Why have I had no trouble in the past posting on behalf of companies in the past and am so cautious with this man’s political campaign? …He is human.

I know that recently the government supposedly made corporations people with rights in some amendment, but that doesn’t mean that they have a relatable face and personality. When thinking about creating drafts to be reviewed for the campaign twitter I found myself asking “would he say this?” … “Does this align with the campaign message?”  I believe this is because I am able to identify that there is a clear cut message to align with and deviating from that message could have consequences and when working with companies in the past, I was unable to identify with that message… or find it at all.

Eventually I came to the realization that until you can find yourself caring about the effects of tweets before you post them, maybe you shouldn’t be helping with the social media. Which brings be back to companies need to make sure that the people representing them online understand their message and are invested in that message and care about how it is interpreted by the public, just like I find myself caring about my contribution to Jack’s campaign.

Regardless, the campaign manager was way ahead of me with this idea because the current procedure is for me to create drafts and then he will approve and post the, which may seem like a waste of time, but when the stakes are the success of his candidate maybe it is worth it. Let, me know what you think…how do you control the risk of an unretractable tweet? Do you delegate it? Do it yourself? Something in between? Leave a comment and let me know.