Earlier this week, a connection of mine on Twitter and LinkedIn sent me an article from Business Insider regarding Social Media Management. The article entitled, “Why I will never ever hire a “Social Media Expert” by Peter Shankman, is satirical yet thought provoking. It is satirical because Mr. Shankman is in the social media/public relations business. So having him publish an article on a site that has twitter and facebook links as well as a link to Mr. Shankman’s own site with its own Social Media profile, all the while harshly criticizing the role of a social media specialist, is like reading something out of National Lampoon.
It is thought provoking in that there are many avenues one can take in calling themselves a “Social Media Expert”. Does your business have the need for the services of such a person or firm? If so, how do you go about choosing the right one? To get to that point, let me just lay out the expertise as I see it.
In my mind there are three ways to arrive at becoming a Social Media Expert. The first way is by becoming a specialist. A person can be viewed as a specialist by offering one of two services. The first service is by becoming a guru of one particular platform. There are LinkedIn experts, there are Twitter experts, and there are Facebook experts. These people do know a great deal about their particular platforms. If you are lucky enough to link up with them or follow them or friend them or like their professional page you can gain tremendous insight into each platform. The second service one can provide and still be considered a specialist is in understanding code. Web design is one thing, but setting up a great looking Facebook page with all the bells and whistles is something else. Codes change and update frequently and keeping up with those changes can be daunting. Having access to this type of skill set could be very valuable.
The second way that one arrives at becoming a Social Media Expert is from the field of marketing or public relations. Someone with a strong PR background understands that social media outlets could be a great way to get their message out. However, they too are a one trick pony in that their specialty is in PR, not New Media.
This brings me to the third way of becoming a Social Media Expert. Like Mr. Shankman above, you can arrive at a certain level of expertise by approaching social media from the perspective of an entrepreneur. By understanding the various outlets, how they work, and managing a well crafted message, you do not have to be myopic with platforms, marketing, or public relations.
It is from this perspective that I assist my clients. I do not claim to be a Social Media Expert nor do I claim to have spent a career in the PR business. But I do strongly claim to be a Social Media educator, a curator of social media sites, and a manager of content. I do this from the perspective of understanding the clients’ corporate culture and organizational behavior and projecting the desired image onto a marketing strategy that utilizes social media. Everyday new outlets and tools are percolating onto the social media scene. The key is finding the ones that are relevant for your business. Having a social media presence is one thing, but understanding how they can work together and work for you is something else.
