Social media plays a role in many, if not all, of our personal lives. We scroll through the feeds of friends and colleagues across Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn – liking, commenting and sharing content. However, the process for creating posts as a social media manager isn’t just “pick a picture, write a quick caption and post” like it may be for personal accounts. It takes a lot of planning in advance, working across different functions, and a willingness to remain flexible, because social media moves so fast.

As almost anyone would tell you, there is no typical day at Foundation Medicine, but for me every day starts off with checking my social media content calendar for upcoming content we have planned. My calendar serves as my guide to the status of social posts – whether they are still in ideation stages, are in the development process with colleagues on other teams or are ready for finalization with my Creative team counterparts. For every post that goes live on Foundation Medicine’s social media accounts, each aspect is thoughtfully created, from the look, feel and design of the visuals, the captions that accompany them and the call to action of where we want our audiences to go for more information. When it comes to final execution and scheduling, the time and day of the week plays a key role in determining when to publish content to ensure optimal engagement. It’s all a game of chess trying to determine important company milestones, awareness days and social media trends, analytics, timing and the right call to action, to align on the perfect post.

As I strategize, I typically plot out content that ensures we are capturing a good mix of cultural, educational, scientific and industry related topics that will resonate with our audiences. This requires a lot of cross-functional collaboration within the company, such as Clinical Development, R&D, Biopharma and Legal, as well as reaching out to individuals externally, including patients and partners, about the work they are doing or their firsthand experiences. It’s perspectives like these that make Foundation Medicine’s social media channels so unique. Social media provides us with a platform to tell stories – stories from patients, employees, partners and healthcare providers, that often go beyond the lens of one perspective and can be tied to the work that we are doing to transform cancer care.

Additionally, I am always on the lookout for any new trends on social media to help inform our content strategy and ensure that we are using our social channels to the best of their ability. I recently had the opportunity to attend the Ragan 2022 Social Media Conference where I learned from social media experts on the latest and best ways to engage with audiences and I am excited to put those learnings into practice. 

Everyone at Foundation Medicine is so passionate about our work and brings with them a distinct perspective based on the role they play and the function they are a part of. I love helping to uncover unique stories and viewpoints in my role, which provides me the opportunity to learn from so many people with diverse backgrounds, expertise and passions. Our social channels work to connect with our audiences through these stories, bringing our cutting-edge science to people’s screens through blogs by employees, scientific information in research publications and eye-capturing visuals. 
 
The job is not without its challenges. One of the key challenges I face in my role is exactly what content to promote and develop (there are just so many great things happening here that we don’t have enough time or space in a month to share it all!). Every content pitch I receive is carefully considered as I try my best to plan for it to be featured on our social channels in a timely manner. There is a flip side to a challenge like this, and that is that there is never a lack of content, and we are never without great ideas. Social media is always moving and evolving, and our content is as well. Just because something may not make it in front of audiences now, doesn’t mean that we can’t keep the idea for the future.

Seeing our audiences engage with content that I have had a hand in creating is my favorite part of the job. Every time a like, share or comment comes through our notifications, it makes me smile and reminds me just how much our employees and external audiences enjoy and relate to what we are posting. We never post just for the sake of posting, and always put a lot of time and effort into thoughtful content for our channels that continue to educate, and advance our mission, centering around patients, providers and partners. 
 
Having had the opportunity to work in two different roles during my time at Foundation Medicine, I feel truly privileged to play a role in helping craft the Foundation Medicine story for our external audiences and to be a part of our dedicated External Communications team that puts so much effort into ensuring that Foundation Medicine shares inspiring and engaging content. Being the social media manager is fun, fast-paced and rewarding – never a dull day.  
 
And to end, a shameless plug– if you don’t follow us on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn yet, give us a follow now!