SouthState Behind the Scenes: Talking Social Media with Vincent Ascolese
6/30/2019
Have you ever wondered who comes up with all of the posts you see on a company’s social media channels? Ever wondered whether there’s a method to what a company posts and when?
In recognition of #SocialMediaDay, we sat down with our own social media manager, Vincent Ascolese, for a behind-the-scenes peek into what he loves about his role. Managing a company’s social media accounts isn’t as easy as a post here and a cute photo there. Vincent is responsible for a lot more, including creating content for social media and monitoring its performance, as well as assisting with complaint resolution, developing employee training and advocacy programs, and serving as a social media resource and advisor for the company.
When asked about the most rewarding part of his job, Vincent flashes his thousand-watt smile and says, “Building relationships. I absolutely love getting to know so many people in the bank. Every time I do something, every time I develop a piece of content, I have to contact someone new or get to know someone better. So many great people work here. There’s incredible talent. Hands down, that’s my favorite part of my job.”
Conversely, Vincent’s greatest challenge is not being able to be everywhere at once. “We’re a big company. We span 4 states, have 150+ locations and have more than 2,000 employees. It’s hard to get quality content from every event, and it’s difficult to cover everything.”
You wouldn’t know it, though, with the volume of content posted to the South State channels. Earlier this year, Bank Director Magazine named South State “Best Bank for Millennial Employees” and specifically called out the bank’s robust and frequent content strategy that appeals to the millennial generation.
Vincent says, “Content generation is definitely a team effort. We have a content team with a lot of creative and talented people. We look at trending topics and national days as a content source, but honestly, a lot of content ideas just come from conversations.”
What’s the thing people would be most surprised to learn about his role? “The most important work is not done on the social channels; it’s done in building the relationships that lead you to great stories and the best content,” he says.
While he’s worked at South State for about a year, Vincent’s career hasn’t always been laser focused on social media. His degree is in public relations, and he says he finds all aspects of P.R. interesting – media relations, crisis communications, brand building and social media. After college, Vincent worked for two P.R. firms. At both firms, he had often worked on helping his clients build their social channels.
“I really fell in love with everything that goes into social media,” he said. “I was already a South State customer when I saw the social media manager job posted. I had such a great experience as a customer that I really wanted to join the team.”
From developing content for the bank’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest channels to coaching leaders on how to optimize their LinkedIn profiles, Vincent’s passion for his role and his expertise in his field are evident. We’re proud to shine the spotlight on “the guy behind the iPad” as we celebrate #SocialMediaDay.
In recognition of #SocialMediaDay, we sat down with our own social media manager, Vincent Ascolese, for a behind-the-scenes peek into what he loves about his role. Managing a company’s social media accounts isn’t as easy as a post here and a cute photo there. Vincent is responsible for a lot more, including creating content for social media and monitoring its performance, as well as assisting with complaint resolution, developing employee training and advocacy programs, and serving as a social media resource and advisor for the company.
When asked about the most rewarding part of his job, Vincent flashes his thousand-watt smile and says, “Building relationships. I absolutely love getting to know so many people in the bank. Every time I do something, every time I develop a piece of content, I have to contact someone new or get to know someone better. So many great people work here. There’s incredible talent. Hands down, that’s my favorite part of my job.”
Conversely, Vincent’s greatest challenge is not being able to be everywhere at once. “We’re a big company. We span 4 states, have 150+ locations and have more than 2,000 employees. It’s hard to get quality content from every event, and it’s difficult to cover everything.”
You wouldn’t know it, though, with the volume of content posted to the South State channels. Earlier this year, Bank Director Magazine named South State “Best Bank for Millennial Employees” and specifically called out the bank’s robust and frequent content strategy that appeals to the millennial generation.
Vincent says, “Content generation is definitely a team effort. We have a content team with a lot of creative and talented people. We look at trending topics and national days as a content source, but honestly, a lot of content ideas just come from conversations.”
What’s the thing people would be most surprised to learn about his role? “The most important work is not done on the social channels; it’s done in building the relationships that lead you to great stories and the best content,” he says.
While he’s worked at South State for about a year, Vincent’s career hasn’t always been laser focused on social media. His degree is in public relations, and he says he finds all aspects of P.R. interesting – media relations, crisis communications, brand building and social media. After college, Vincent worked for two P.R. firms. At both firms, he had often worked on helping his clients build their social channels.
“I really fell in love with everything that goes into social media,” he said. “I was already a South State customer when I saw the social media manager job posted. I had such a great experience as a customer that I really wanted to join the team.”
From developing content for the bank’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest channels to coaching leaders on how to optimize their LinkedIn profiles, Vincent’s passion for his role and his expertise in his field are evident. We’re proud to shine the spotlight on “the guy behind the iPad” as we celebrate #SocialMediaDay.
