Thursday 26 May 2016

HM The Queen gets serious about social media

For ten years now, I’ve stressed the value of social media and an online presence.

Now, Her Majesty The Queen has come to the same realisation.

It’s a big year for The Queen. As well as turning 90, she’s hiring someone to run and manage her social media accounts for an annual salary of £50,000.

Based at Buckingham palace, The Queen’s Head of Digital Entertainment will manage all the Royal family’s social media accounts. These include a verified Twitter account, an official Facebook page and The Queen’s own YouTube channel. The main objective of the role is to increase The Queen’s presence on social media.

My only question is why has it taken so long?

The Queen has always been at the forefront of technology. She sent her first email in 1976 and started her own website in 1997. Her twitter account was established in 2009 and she joined Facebook in 2010. Until now, however, she’s never been involved in social media to the extent that she needed full time help. Perhaps she felt her role and position precluded such intimate engagement with the public?

In all, 2.22 billion people across the world use social networks. There are 1.59 billion active Facebook users worldwide – that’s 38.6 per cent of the global online population -  and 310 million of us are on Twitter.

So why isn’t every public figure using social media?

Some celebrities and high profile individuals could argue that social media invades their privacy and invites unwelcome gossip. However, our Queen has been in the public eye for over 60 years now and it’s apparent that she’s mastered social etiquette.

Earlier this month, Prince Harry and Michelle Obama launched the Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida. To mark the event, The Queen, Prince Harry and Barack and Michelle Obama appeared in an Invictus Challenge video. The 35-second-long clip has been viewed and shared by tens of thousands of users since it was posted on Twitter on 29 April. This shows how fast – and how far - information can travel on social media.

So should we look out for a stream of Royal selfie’s in the near future? I’d definitely advise Her Majesty to invest in a selfie stick – I love mine! 😉 📷

If you’re interested or just a little bit nosey, check out the job ad here.


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