Getting all 'social' with Jon-Stephen Stansel
Jon-Stephen Stansel is an award-winning social media professional with 15+ years of experience managing and creating social content for brands in the higher education and entertainment industries.
He’s managed social media accounts for Amazon Prime's Rings Of Power, Invincible, and Hazbin Hotel, worked on social strategy and content for Avatar: The Way Of The Water, and much more besides.
I first noticed Jon-Stephen on X, where his statements about managing social really resonated with me as I’d worked as a social media manager in several organisations.
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Here’s what Jon-Stephen had to say when we had a chat about social media and AI, working in social within the entertainment industry, and his latest book…
Q. What inspired you to write your book, The 10 Principles of Effective Social Media Marketing — and what can readers expect to learn from it?
One of the biggest challenges of writing a book on social media marketing is that everything in this industry changes so quickly that by the time a book is written and finally goes to print, it's already out of date.
So, I challenged myself to write something on social media marketing that would have a much longer lifespan. I figured that if I zoomed out and took a more long-term view of the industry, I could find several fundamental principles of effective social media marketing that are universal to all industries and social media platforms, and are also timeless.
For example, one of the principles I write about is that effective social media marketing is audience-focused. This is something that has been vital since the beginning of social and will remain so, well into the future.
Hopefully, readers of the book will come away with a better understanding of the fundamental concepts that make social work, regardless of the trends, algorithms, and leading platforms of the day.
Q. How do you see AI impacting the social media manager role?
AI is no doubt a game-changing technology, and there will definitely be some companies that mistakenly think they can replace their social media managers with AI — that will be to their detriment.
“A social media manager's job is so much more than just creating content. It's understanding strategy, community, platform nuances, and so much more. And most irreplaceable, it's about taste.”
Sure, AI might be able to whip up some copy and images for social posts, but is what it comes up with any good? Will your audience respond to it? Does it fit your brand voice?
ChatGPT can't tell you that, but an experienced social media manager can. And you can't replace that. The brands that use AI to augment and sharpen their social media efforts will be the ones that win out over the brands that attempt to let AI do it all.
Also, folks who think a social media manager can be replaced with AI aren't the ones you want to work for anyway.
Q. What unique challenges and opportunities have you encountered while managing social for entertainment brands?
I think the biggest challenge for social media managers in any industry is that just about everyone with an Instagram account thinks they know how to run social media for a brand. And that is simply not true. But that doesn't stop them from trying to tell you how to do your job.
While this can be extremely frustrating, it's also an opportunity for education. Rather than argue with or shut down these voices, it's a chance to share the why behind the decisions we make as social media managers and display our expertise.
“Just because you can drive a car doesn't mean you can be a mechanic. And that's how I view our role as social media managers. We are the mechanics who understand what's going on under the hood.”
I will say that I ran into this issue a lot more in higher education than I do in the entertainment industry. It seems like it would be the other way around, but for the most part, I've found that in the entertainment industry, there's a bit more appreciation of expertise, with the powers that be saying, "You're the expert and I trust your decision."
Not to say that it never happens, but I wish more industries would learn to trust the experts they hired to do the job.
Q. How do you juggle your roles as a consultant, an author, and a speaker?
Routine, routine, routine. For me, having a consistent daily routine is everything.
I try to organize my day according to how I best work; with creative tasks being done in the morning when my mind is fresh, and meetings and assorted upkeep tasks in the afternoon.
Honestly, balancing the multiple roles of consultant, author, and speaker is the easy part. Throw in being a stay-at-home dad, and it gets a lot more difficult... but more fun. I have an eight-year-old son who regularly throws my whole organized daily routine into chaos; especially when he's home for summer break.
So, I try to plan for that — getting the bulk of my work done in the mornings when he's still asleep, then leaving shorter tasks that won't be totally derailed by interruptions for the afternoon. And most importantly, I try to put my work aside for a bit each day and just focus on him.
Q. Lastly, what advice would you give someone looking to land their first social media role?
Put yourself out there on social media. You need to use the platforms to show off your work and knowledge.
This is not to be confused with trying to be an influencer or a thought leader. What I mean is, follow other social media managers on X and interact with them. Share your thoughts on the industry. What do you think works? What doesn't? And why do you think that?
This will have a few effects. You'll build a network that can help you find jobs, you'll establish yourself as a good digital citizen of your profession, and most importantly, you'll learn.
I don't think maintaining an active personal presence on social networks is a job requirement for social media managers, but for those who are looking for a job, it definitely helps.
Jon-Stephen’s website | Buy The 10 Principles of Effective Social Media Marketing
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