Breaking Down Social Media Ninja Turtle Style

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*Now, I must confess this post was inspired by my all-time favorite cartoon show: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.*

Lately, I’m seeing more people call themselves, “social media ninjas.” I have to say this term is very misleading and in my opinion, should be thrown out. Just like the terms, “guru” and “expert,” “ninja” implies that you know everything about a subject. I don’t care who you are, but there is no way you can know ABSOLUTELY everything about social media. Social media is too new and ever-changing.

This brings me to my point. If you still insist on calling yourself a ninja in the social media world, you better be comparing yourself to one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  As crazy as it may sound, the mighty mutant “ninja” turtles can teach us all a lot about managing our social media presence.


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Leonardo – “the courageous leader”
Now, I confess Leonardo was my favorite Ninja turtle as a kid. He was the leader of the pack. And when it comes to social media, I’m talking about the early adopters. For example, these were the people, who joined Twitter, before it went mainstream and amassed a huge following. I’d consider people like @SkyDiver, @ChrisBrogan and @prsarahevans to be great “Leo” examples. These are the people that I personally inspire to be more like in the social media world.

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Donatello – “the brilliant intellectual”
Donatello was the inventor, engineer and technologically savvy one of the pack. These are primarily the users, who don’t tweet or post often, but when they do say something it’s always very profound and/or intellectual. These are the users, who are generally very respected and successful in their careers, and have written books on their craft.

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Raphael- “the bad boy”
Raphael was always the first one to throw a punch. I’m referring to social media users, who are always looking for a fight. These users usually surround themselves with controversy and aren’t afraid to give their opinion. They don’t filter what they say, and often put other people down in the process.

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Michelangelo – “the casual user”
Michelangelo was the free-spirit, comical turtle. He likes to have a good time, relax and eat pizza. And when it comes to social media, I am talking about the casual social media users. The people, who are primarily on social media, to communicate with friends they know in real life. These users tend to talk about tv shows, what they did last night and their upcoming plans with friends.

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Shredder – “the villain”
Shredder was the Ninja Turtles nemesis. Chances are if you are reading this post, you are probably not a “Shredder.” That’s because these are the anti-social media people. These are the people, who many refer to as the old-school “dinosaurs,” who still think Facebook and Twitter are just fads. No matter how many presentations you give and how many facts you present about social media’s impact, they are still absolutely set forth in their beliefs.

So, which ninja turtle character are you?  Are you a combination of two or more characters? Please leave your comments below.
Jessica Malnik works with B2B SaaS and professional service firms to build marketing moat that compound over time using her signature content framework. As both a strategist and executor, she helps clients develop strategic content marketing roadmaps, scale content production, and provide guidance on campaigns and individual pieces.
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