Well the Washington Post has revealed the 10 biggest social networking mistakes that businesses make—one of them being signing up and then tossing the task of social media to the lowest or most inexperienced staff, like an intern.

This is a very familiar social media mistake and I have seen it happen over and over again. In fact, I’ve worked for more than one large high-tech corporation in the past who left their social media success in the hands of paid summer interns or net unsavvy junior staffers.

Why is this a BIG mistake?

Take it from Debbie Weil, a local corporate social media consultant, who says that a proper social media strategy “requires someone who is not only communication savvy, but comfortable with exposure to the public”.  So an entry level employee with no blogging or search engine optimization exposure just don’t cut it. Social media needs a personal touch that someone with a blogging background needs to take the reigns on or at least research before diving in.

Are you guilty of leaving your social media to an intern? Well you’d better read the article.

Well, according to the New York Times, Twitter mimics this connection digitally, putting a 97.91% of users within six degrees of connection to one another.

This data was studied and recorded by social media consulting firm, Sysomos, who also found that Twitter users are even more closely connected then their Facebook counterparts. For instance, on Facebook it takes users 5.73 visits to friends of friends to find their own familiar connections; whereas with Twitter, the degree of connection is closer at 3.32 visits.

What does this mean for marketers? It means that Twitter’s high-connection rate is an ideal platform for us to reach and connect with a variety of global users very easily.

According to a survey called Social Media Without a Parachute from Digital Brand Expressions (DBE), companies are adopting social media with open arms. However, when it comes to strategic implementation of social media—efforts fall, well, a little flat.

The DBE study indicates that 78% of 100 surveyed companies say even though they actively use social media; just 41% employ their social media efforts as part of a strategic game plan.

Ouch!

Take a look at the full social media findings from the MarketingProfs article when it comes to which department is primarily responsible for social media, and what social media is being used to market.