Smooth sailing among icebergs: the case for social media training.

The job of a social media manager has changed considerably over the years I have been in the game.

One area that no longer seems to be a priority is foundational training in how social media works.

It’s a major risk.

Using social media without regular training on basics like privacy, settings, and your organisation’s social media policy is like captaining a ship without knowing how to read charts or use navigational tools. Sure, you might drift from one port to another, and perhaps you’ll even reach your destination. But each time you venture out, you risk running aground or colliding with unseen dangers.

Social media is like an iceberg. On the surface, it’s fun cat videos and at worse dodgy friend requests. Underneath lies the bulk of an iceberg that’s where you will find, misinformation, the sway large companies hold over the populace, and a serious lack of transparency.

Without knowing what lies underneath the surface, small missteps can turn into catastrophic wrecks. On social media, a lack of foundational knowledge can lead to breaches, misunderstandings, or harm.

I’m not arguing that social media training isn’t popular and common – it is. But a) it’s mostly taken up by people who know how the channels work and b) it’s about honing specialist knowledge. Running a page and growing an audience is one thing, operating as a user safely is totally another.

I recall once sharing with an executive that their cover photo and profile image was public, great was their shock and embarrassment.

For large organisations, particularly in regulated industries, compliance-focused training seems to still be offered. Employees may learn about privacy laws, avoiding legal risks, crisis communication, and cybersecurity threats.

But here’s the concern: is the training landscape too patchy, or dry? Organisations often lack formal programs, leaving employees without clear guidance, publishing their policy on the intranet and crossing their fingers. Or, it may be about what they’re not allowed to do, not how they should conduct themselves.

On our recent (very) informal LinkedIn poll, the most common response to the question ‘Does your organisation provide training on the basics of social media?’ was “No, but we should.”

It’s a bad time to be having fewer of these crucial, foundational conversations.

Here are just some of the things about social media that convince me that this is the time to arm ourselves with knowledge.

• There are so many platforms. The typical social media user actively uses / visits an average of 8 different social platforms monthly. [Source]
• As of January 2025 worldwide, nine in 10 consumers use social mediato keep up with trends and cultural moments. Which is fine, except that we’re so bad at identifying misinformation.
• Australians spend an average of 1 hour and 51 minutes per day on social media, accounting for nearly half of the 5 hours and 13 minutes of free time we typically have each day, according to ABS statistics. [Source]
• Social media bans are increasingly being discussed as a solution to safety, and I have every sympathy for this. Esther Ghey whose teenage daughter was murdered by school mates says that ‘blocking children under 16 from accessing social media could help curb real-life acts of violence.’
• US tech giants, represented by the CCIA, are lobbying the Trump administration to challenge Australia’s proposed regulations, including a “News Bargaining Incentive” tax and local content quotas for streaming services, which they argue unfairly target American companies. [Source]

How is anyone supposed to navigate this if they don’t know who can see where they work on their Facebook profile?

The solution may be to abandon the Social Media Ship. But since we’re unlikely to do that, being better informed is essential.

Organisations need to recognise this and prioritise foundational social media training. After all, a well-informed team is the anchor that keeps us steady in the storm.