RECENTLY during a coffee break at a conference, I was chatting with a group that included the chief marketing officer of a large multinational company (MNC) and heard him say: "Get your most junior marketing executive to mentor the chief marketing officer on how to effectively leverage social media for marketing."

Understandably, the listeners were surprised. The idea that a junior executive (or possibly an intern) could influence the development of a business' social media strategy is inconceivable. This is because the power and reach of social media today is indisputable. And one mistake - even a minor one - can lead to significant damage to a brand.

And yet, as I thought more about his statement, it began to make some sense. Often the intern or junior execs are handling the tactical day-to-day social media tasks, making them closer to the action.