Is Your Social Media Marketing ‘Expert’ a Phony? Five Ways to Tell.
For every marketer comfortable with social media, there are many more just dipping their toes in the social media marketing waters. And anytime we find such a “target rich environment,” there’s sure to be more than enough “experts” willing to offer their services. Often for big money.
With so many “talented” social media professionals to work with, how do you separate the cream-of-the-crop from those who are fudging their way through social media marketing? Here are five tell-tale signs that your social media marketing partners might not be as socially networked online as you thought:
1. They call themselves experts or “gurus.”
Even the most influential social media marketing insiders agree that no one is an expert in social media. Why? Because it’s simply impossible to know everything happening in a universe that is changing second by second. There are hundreds upon hundreds of social sharing sites, millions of blogs spanning every broad industry and niche you can think of, and a vast pool of consumers who may or may not be part of your target audience visiting these sites. And all of this is in flux at every given moment. So be wary of a social media marketing professional who alludes to the sentiment that they know it all.
2. The only social media tools they ever talk about are Twitter and Facebook.
If your so-called social media marketing expert can only name Twitter and Facebook when asked about specific sites, it’s a blazing red flag. You’re looking to work with someone who knows that there are a plethora of social networking communities on the Web (even if they can’t all be named at that moment) and that not all of these networks are going to be a fit for your brand. Click the “Share This” button on the bottom of this post, which lists hundreds of sharing sites, and you’ll get the (overwhelming) picture. Your social media marketing partner will need to roll up their sleeves and dig in alongside you to find the social media tools that make the most sense for your business’s objectives.
3. They throw around buzzwords but can’t explain what they mean.
SEO. Page rank. Link baiting. Bit.ly. Foursquare. Delicious. As the opposite of the Twitter/Facebook experts, these folks seem to be speaking a different language. But while it’s true that social media marketing has a unique vocabulary that could give Webster a run for its money, simply spitting out a bunch of terms doesn’t cut it. (P.S. If they say they’re on top of “tweetering,” run. Fast.)
4. They equate ROI with the number of Twitter followers and Facebook fans.
A large volume of fans and followers are great, but counting them as a sole metric on which to base ROI is a rookie mistake. First, that’s only taking into account metrics from one small piece of the larger social media marketing pie. Second, it’s unlikely that each fan is reading every single post or piece of content you put up, so your actual reach is smaller. But most importantly, your goal isn’t to win a popularity contest online; it’s about making meaningful connections with consumers (whether that be through branding or providing customer service) that will help fill your sales funnel with quantifiable leads and sales. Before even chirping one tweet, your social media marketing partner should sit down with you to establish a benchmark and define quantifiable metrics (Clicks? Sales? Fewer returns?) that fit in with the rest of your brand’s marketing mix.
5. They offer guarantees.
In life, the only guarantees are death and taxes, but there are no guarantees at all in social media marketing. While there’s a great likelihood a well-thought-out campaign or plan will drive traffic to your site or engage new prospects, there’s simply no way a social media marketing professional can guarantee specific results like bumping your website to a certain Google page rank. (In that instance, the dirty little secret is that while social media marketing professionals have an educated guess as to what will help bump page rank, Google doesn’t reveal its search indexing algorithms, which are changing all the time, so there’s no way to know the exact path for sure.) Establishing targets for tracking ROI are one thing. Guaranteeing you’ll hit them for sure is another.
Fortunately, most social media marketing professionals are talented individuals dedicated to growing your brand’s presence online, and these red flags are few and far between. That said, they do exist. Have you encountered any of these issues or others in your search for the perfect social media marketing partner? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo: Claudia Meyer
This is an important topic, and I appreciate your attempt to give warning to marketers/business looking for help in social media, but I’m just not buying #1. It starts with the way you introduce it, “influential social media marketing insiders”… come on, that’s just a euphemism for “expert.”
Your example asserts that there can’t be experts because the field is changing, but that’s just not true. You don’t define an expert based on the complexity or fluidity of a field. So what, there aren’t any web experts either? Social media is just a subset of the internet has a whole, so you would think that if there aren’t social media experts, there REALLY can’t be web experts. It’s the expert’s job to stay on top of trends and continue to adapt. They don’t have to know details about every little icon that shows up in “Share” buttons, because it isn’t always applicable.
I’m not trying to downplay your article or the significance of this topic. In fact, I just wrote a piece on the dangers of social media content factories (Social Media Is Not Your Knight In Shining Armor), as well as one on social media experts. I’d appreciate YOUR (the author’s) take on those!
Great point, and I respect your opinion, Mike.
While there are competent social media pros out there that use the “expert” title, I feel that when combined with other red flags like those listed above, it’s a good likelihood that they might not know as much as they’re saying they do. Taken individually, these aren’t necessarily “run for the hills” warning signs (except for the “tweetering” comment, for sure), but as an aggregate, I feel these are pretty good indicators you (as a brand) need to do some digging to make sure you’ll really get the results you’re looking for.
While I think all of these are correct, this topic is getting a little played out. To the point where I feel like the “social media marketing insiders” are trying to draw a line in the sand and say, “we’re better and cooler than all those other guys trying to figure this out”. To a traditional marketer who is doing just fine learning as I go, still helping clients to develop successful social media strategies, this is starting to get offensive. I want to participate in the social media communities and attend the events and the tweetups – but honestly, I don’t want to hang out with a bunch of social media snobs. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that there are lots of people jumping on the bandwagon, but in making these lists, you suggest that the only way you should practice social media marketing is if you are already experienced but the catch 22 is, you can’t get experienced if you don’t use it for your clients. Just lighten up. We’re all learning and it’s ok. Not every client is going to hire the million dollar an hour “social media whatever you callem”. There is a place for the rest of us – just let us in.
Chris, I couldn’t agree more; I think what people/experts lose sight of is that all of the above is communication. Its all about integration, social media is just one facet, albeit an important facet. I think labeling yourself a social media expert potentially alienates one from the greater campaign scope and objectives.
While there may be a number of other social networks, I think if you are ofay with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you have a large majority of your bases covered.
RE: Chris: I think the point isn’t about being an insider. To me, the bigger issue is self-anointed experts that really don’t know much more than the average person. They keep their knowledge close to the vest and broker the mystery as currency.
I don’t think Anne suggest that “the only way you should practice social media marketing is if you are already experienced”. In fact, I take it as the opposite: learn by doing, and be confident in your own knowledge and common sense vs. thinking some expert knows something so special. It’s simply a grain-of-salt message, or at least that’s how I take it.
Remember, this from a PR Agency that is pretty darn accomplished in social media marketing. All things being equal, we’re experts. It just that the more we know, the more we realize that there’s much more to learn. A little humility feels better at this stage of the game, in my opinion — from Len Cercone
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again very soon!