Don’t you get frustrated by seeing or hearing about the same conversations over & over again on Social Media? What the so called Social Media Expert, the Social Media Guru, do we even know what those terms really mean? I’m sure the frustration is only with those who have been around a couple years already, those who have been watching this environment fragment, morph, change shape and even become mainstream.
I took part in Mack Collier’s #Blogchat tonite, what fun that was, if you haven’t taken part or even heard about it, you are missing something. Tonights topic was, How social media consultants should use SM themselves. It was a wild conversation with many people tonight, but thats what it’s all about, sharing and helping answer questions. The chat tonight got me to thinking, so here I am sharing my thoughts.
The fact we are still having the same conversations about Social Media means that a large part of those in the work force still don’t understand or know how it works. When we are still asking questions like, How do I get an SM job, and those asking that question barely know how to use the tools. They want to know because it sounds like a fun job! The truth is, it may be fun, but it’s much harder work than many believe.
Tomorrow’s Social Media Consultants or Advisors must have some experience, must be able to show that they have done what they are selling, teaching or preaching. Just knowing how to use the tools does not qualify them, at best it’s a hobby at that level. The most successful SM consultants have done something in the field of communication, have some marketing experience, understand business and how it truly works. The push & pull of Social Media isn’t going away anytime soon, at least not until we as a people understand it better.
On Tonights #Blogchat was about how Social Media Consultants should use Social Media themselves, that question alone raises the question, is Social Media understood?
Beth Harte made a profound statement tonight, “If you are a consultant that isn’t driving business using smart MKTG that includes SM, how can you do it for me?’ Mack Collier responded to Beth “I think it’s a balancing act, if a consultant has no SM footprint, how do they know what they are talking about?” Beth is on to something there with her question, but this is only one part of the problem, there is more to being a Social Media Consultant than just one expertise of having a footprint. Beth also shared the following, Social Media is more than just tools… Blogs are more than just blog posts/content. Sometimes we have to keep it simple for those asking the questions.
I threw out some bait in the chat and had some interesting exchanges, I said, The truely successful SM Consultants have one characteristic in common – Humility – they know who they are. While that may be true, Eric Urbane also made a great point by responding with, With due respect, this humility stuff has little to do with Results, What CEO hires someone because of humility?
Eric’s point is valid, my point was not about tactics and strategy but more about the person, the softside of the consultant. I said, If a SM Consultant has to look good, they don’t have humility, they have vanity. Humility is rare at the mass level. If SM Consultants know their stuff, there is a quiet calm, peace, and humility within… they will be well liked and hired far more often than not, looking good and being right is not important to them. Solving problems and helping people (clients) is.
The same holds true for SEO Experts, Shannon Evans shared, I also get frustrated by SEO ‘experts’ who don’t even have decent seo on own site! They gotta eat the dogfood too!
Social Media Consultants have to bring something to the table more than knowing how to use the tools. Danny Brown said, Ask for tangible results – any SM consultant worth their salt will have physical results to show you.
A true Social Media Consultant is a student of the works, finds and builds results to back them up, they know who to call and where to look so they can bring accurate sound data to share before promising anything. A good consultant rarely promises, he walks along side of the client and teaches them.
I’m being very general in this post and you need to know this could go much, much deeper, I would recommend contact Beth Harte & Mack Collier to get real insight into what was talked about tonight. They are smart, well grounded humble people that understand the seriousness of what Social Media Consultants should be. They might even be able to answer the question of the night, How social media consultants should use SM themselves. Oh, and they do understand the Push & Pull of Social Media.
Great post. I agree, humility never closes the deal! Basically, they have a need and you have a tool that benefits them. It is the implementation plan and follow through that gets and keeps the contract.
I get really frustrated with all the so-called experts who don’t even know how to place their own blog/website on a directory much less understand the difference between black hat and white hat. Real experts know how to find the best onpage and offpage efforts for your company’s web presence. If your ‘expert’ can’t be found when you google their own name…you might have a problem! Check them out first, then go see if they are on LinkedIn and Twitter and see how well their profiles are optimized. Look at their website and if you really want a baseline to detect if they know what they are doing run their url through http://www.websitegrader.com and see if they get a passing grade (many do not even grade out at a 70%). While it is not the end all and be all of evaluative tools, it is a good indicator of their SEO abilities. If they don’t score then they obviously don’t eat their own dog food. If they don’t make the grade run away! Find someone else who does. Owen is right on the mark…who and what is an expert? Do your homework. It will pay off in the end.
Hey Shannon,
As I mentioned, this goes way deeper than a blog post me thinks, maybe a series of posts. Thanks for your comments.
Hi Owen,
It was great to be part of #blogchat last night!
I went through my tweets and I don’t believe I said what you’ve quoted me on. What I said was:
“If you are a consultant that isn’t driving business using smart marketing that includes social media, how can you do it for me?”
There is a difference…
Love this:
“If SM Consultants know their stuff, there is a quiet calm, peace, and humility within… they will be well liked and hired far more often than not…”
Couldn’t agree more. Those who are confident, know what they are doing, have experience and are working hard, welp, they aren’t chatting themselves up on Twitter all day and they have a decent blog that offers actionable advice (and other content too, of course). Danny is right…if they say they are an SM consultant, they better have some case studies, results, etc.
Thanks Owen for capturing some of the chat!
Beth Harte
@bethharte
HI Beth,
Yes you did say that, I merely cut & paste the quote I did use, it’s possible you said it outside of #Blogchat, none the less, if I miss quoted you please forgive me, that was not the point of this writing. I apreciate you taking the time to correct me, if I can reproduce the Tweet I’ll send it your way.
As I said, I have great respect for you & Mack and I do believe you both can answer the question of the night not too mention indentify the push & pull of Social Media.
Thanks for all you do Beth,
Owen
Nope…that was Mack’s tweet to me.
http://twitter.com/MackCollier/statuses/7613878006
“@BethHarte I think it’s a balancing act, if a consultant has no SM footprint, how do they know what they are talking about? but #blogchat”
You are correct Beth, please accept my apology, I quoted Mack not you, I will change it. Thanks for your understanding and patience.
No need to apologize… Again, I think it’s a great example of how to engage in the social space.
I found the Tweet I used, it looks like an RT by Mack Collier: http://twitter.com/MackCollier/statuses/7613878006
Sorry if it that quote is misleading in any way.
Owen
No worries! I LOVE this because this is an excellent example of how things that are incorrect (whether a blog post, article, etc) can be corrected.
Well, if there is a comment area to do so, of course.
This is a great lesson for marketing & PR pros Owen.
“We’re all newbies at something” is a good thought to keep in mind.
Someone just asked me, “what do you look for in a social media expert?” First thought that popped into my head was, “someone who’s an expert at something else.”
“Walking the talk” is another hallmark that comes to mind. Not sure what a sufficient benchmark might be—is being followed by 10,000 better than 5,000, for instance? Who knows. My hunch is, it doesn’t make any difference.
It does seem “social media experts” tend to focus on “social media,” and not any disciplined marketing schema (like building the proverbial sales funnel or, as I like to call it, the marketing continuum; defining key marketing challenges; aligning media and messaging to address specific marketing challenges, etc.).
We’ll eventually move past talking about social media as a stand-alone unit and return to establishing and marching toward objectives and how some tools help more than others.
In the meantime, we’ll keep giving speeches to people who ask us to present; we’ll walk through what Twitter is and even how to set up an account on Twitter, and then get the evaluation saying, “We were hoping for something a little more basic on Twitter.”
Such is life.
Thanks Trey,
Well said, the experts will still act in an immature way, they will talk in an immature way, and we will never escape that issue, but most of us can learn.
Thanks again for your input.
It was an interesting discussion for sure. I wish I was able to dive in a bit more but was a bit preoccupied last night so I was in and out.
One thing that I’d like to touch on is the concept in Mack’s quote about proving you know what your’e doing by doing it for yourself first. Something about it didn’t sit right with me in the chat. After reading this post now, I think I know why.
I’ve worked for agencies, with full design teams, that have outdated and unattractive websites with poor usability. Is it because they didn’t care about how they looked? No. It’s because they relied on the work they did for their clients to represent them well.
Sure, today a “consultant” should be using these tools to present themselves well, and make sure that they have a presence. That certainly shouldn’t be the priority though. The priority should always be in the work they do for their clients.
On humility: No one gets hired for humility, but you’ll often find that the best ones are filled with it.
6 months ago when I was just reading blogs and didn’t have too much experience, I looked at social media as a standalone. Of course you’d have to integrate other areas, but I thought a professional consultant could make a living providing strictly social media services. It’s what everyone was writing about! After I started actually practicing my profession in the real world, I quickly realized how misguided this mentality was.
David
Community Manager, Scribnia.com
Thanks David,
This topic could go deep but I’m not sure a Blog Post is where that should happen, it got me to thinking so I dopped a few thoughts and quotes from the chat.
You mentioned the design shop relying on the work that they did in the past, it may well be out dated, but I can’t think thats a goos selling proposition either. In my humble opinion, that design shop should be going back to encourage an update, to include the newer technologies. The testimonies are important but if I go to the client’s site I’ll know if it’s out dated and needs a refresh. Of course, not everyone will know that conciously, but they will know something isn’t right.
Anyway, Scoial Media is far from well understood by many, and that creates a few challenges for those who do understand it. Indirectly anyway.
Thanks for your comments David, thanks for taking the time.
Owen
Great post Owen!
I regret missing the show last night because it sounded like a lively discussion with valuable content.
Humility, a good website/blog and a lot of followers does not make an expert! Consultants, I do not think there are any experts, must use the tools, know the tools and can show they have a track record on creating successful campaigns for their clients.
As Trey mentioned, you have to “walk the talk” and being a consultant means the full package; social media, marketing and a discussion about how it impacts a companies business and bottom line.
Consultants should be leading business conversations.
Hey John,
Thanks for your thoughts, there is so much to being a Consultant let alone add Social Media into the mix.
The reality and characteristics may be, “If SM Consultants know their stuff, there is a quiet calm, peace, and humility within… they will be well liked and hired far more often than not…” I shared that last night in #Blogchat
It was fun gathering, walk the talk is where you will learn the most.
Thanks again,
Cya later
Owen, Good Morning
Thank you for including me in your article, and I am glad you did not take offense to the comment. The downside of digital is it can come off as harsh, particularly when one has a blunt, straightforward personality, sometimes to my demise.
I tend to think of all of our Social Media as Practice, including our Marketing and Branding Efforts. And, like anyone who practices a lot, trends of what works and what doesn’t work surface. And by practice, I refer to employing actual strategies in and on a business or brand, not aimlessly babbling in the space.
You used the word hobby in your post, I love that and I have said many times, If Your Social Media Campaign Isn’t Helping You Sell More Stuff, To More People, for More Money, It Is Just A Hobby. That tends to rial up the “Purists” albeit they are fading as Big Brands emerge with best practices
Hi Eric,
Yes your right, I have seen more arguements and hurt feelings over e-mail messages or texting, but I always try to keep that in mind here in cyberspace. As far as we have come, we still have along way to go when it comes to business owners.
The hobby runs deeper than I would have it be but it’s also a water cooler mentallity.
Thanks for your comments, I’ll talk to you soon.
Owen