3 Things Social Media has Taught Me about Start-up / Small Company Operations

I sit here reflecting on what a wild year in a small company has been like. We had a saying in a previous company “When you start to get comfortable in the company, they will change your job.” As our growth at btrax has dramatically increased from last year, our company personnel has also increased and that quote is so ever true. It is our often feared friend in life called change.

Unbeknownst to me, my role as a Social Media Manager has now prepared me for my next role as Operations Manager at btrax.

What does operations mean in a start-up or small company?  In my blog about my role here as Social Media Manager, I mentioned “Social media is an interesting mix of career ingredients as it spans the range of PR, Marketing, and a little bit of mad scientist.”

Well, Operations is the same melting pot but of different ingredients. It means a mix of Finance, Organizational Development, Customer Service, Leadership, HR (Happiness Restoring) and mad scientist. The three aspects of Social Media that has been most important to me is Listening, Interaction, and Community Building.

Listening

One can argue that listening is an attribute that most people must have but really hard to realize in our fast paced world. As a Social Media Manager, you need the ability to monitor or listen to multiple media channels. In Operations Management, listening to what the individuals in a company is doing and business is the same as social media but with different pieces.

Interaction

To be successful in social media, it is a must to interact with your community. Social interaction involves the components of listening but with feedback and action. Action also involves the action of trying something new. In an Operational role in a small company or start-up, interaction is key to solve process, organizational and everyday office issues.

Community Building

Social media management requires us to listen, interact and also build your community either for our client or for the business. Community growth requires talking about issues relevant to your community so that your community can re-amplify the conversation and interest others to join the community. Essentially, strengthening and maintaining those interconnections. Operations management requires to not only listen to what your current community is talking about and solving issues along the way but also interject new ideas to ensure the growth of your company is achieved.

As the second year starts at btrax, this will be an interesting period in my career as well as btrax as a company. Maintaining the passion for my career as well as looking out for the passion of current and future employees will be my next challenge. I am proud to be a part of this crazy growth and help in my small way. But, isn’t change and challenges a part of maintaining that passion?