Before I begin, here are links to the three events mentioned in the video:
July 17: Americas Mart International Gift Show – Atlanta, GA
July 27-28: ADMA Forum 2010 – Sydney, Australia
Okay. Now we can begin.
From solo operator to corporate front: The evolution of manufactured Social Media expertise in 2010
I guess it was just a matter of time before we had to revisit the issue of bogus Social Media “experts,” so today is as good as any to do just that. This time though, rather than drop the hammer on the latest Social Media certification scheme or outrageous Social Media R.O.I. equation/calculator, let me just speak in more general terms. Not that I particularly feel obliged to protect the guilty, but we can do this without pointing any fingers. Actually, for this topic, it works better if we don’t.
What I want to shed a light on today isn’t the lone “Social Media Expert” who tried his hand at being a day-trader, then got into SEO, then found himself out of a job for a few months and finally figured he’d try his luck as a Social Media consultant… because hey, how hard can it be, right? *sigh* We’ve already been down that road and I can’t think of anything to add at this juncture. No, today, I want to bring up another type of “Social Media expert” altogether: The kind that earns his or her validation from the company they work for, mostly as a marketing ploy engineered by said company.
Consider a scenario for a moment (and I am not making this up, so pay attention): Consulting Firm XYZ realizes that there is big money in Social Media consulting and services, say in the enterprise space. Every single one of their big clients is asking them for help on the Social Media front, first in terms of research and fact-finding, then in terms of strategy, then integration and training. They need to act fast or they might not get that business. What to do?
There are two ways of going about this: The first – Putting together a team of people with actual experience in these matters. Identify them internally or hire them as needed. The second – Grabbing the handful of consultants who did your initial research and fact-finding when it comes to Social Media, and change their respective titles to reflect their needed “expertise” in light of their new client-facing roles. One is the right, ethical, smart and professional way of getting into the Social Media consulting business. The other is the complete opposite of that.
Intelligent and ethical choices designate the winners in the long run
Let me be clear about this: Many firms and agencies choose the first of these choices. Companies like Edelman, Ogilvy, Radian 6, Deloitte and New Marketing Labs have already snatched up some pretty solid names in the space – an indication that they are taking their task and their clients’ well-being seriously. These companies would tend to fall into the good category. Sadly though, not all consulting firms and agencies have chosen the same path. More and more, I keep running into firms that knowingly appoint people with no experience or savvy to “Social Media Director,” “VP Social Business” and other such roles, then aggressively market them to their unsuspecting clients in order to secure lucrative consulting contracts.
Not that some consulting firms haven’t been doing this with other disciplines for decades, but this one hits a little closer to home. Besides, until now, internally manufactured experts at least had some semblance of experience. At worst, they received a decent degree of training before being thrust into their clients’ unfortunate laps to learn their craft as they went. Now though, when it comes to Social Media integration and program development, not so much. It’s like the bar has been lowered a few more notches, and that isn’t something we should turn a blind eye to.
How to manufacture a bogus Social Media expert for your company in 10 easy steps
So here’s how the process of manufacturing internal Social Media expertise works:
Step 1 – Identify the pigeon: the individual who isn’t really good at what s/he was hired to do, but is someone’s protegé within the organization and could fit into this role well enough. “Let’s see… Who fits that description… Ah yes. Jackson. Someone call Jackson in here. What?… Yes, tell him to bring his pencil.”
Step 2 – Send Jackson on a two-week fact-finding mission to find and browse through every study, article, report and policy ever written about Social Media. (We’ll come back to this in step 4.) “Yes, Jackson. Google. With a G.”
Step 3 – Build Jackson a personal website and a blog. Tell him to get a Twitter account started. Better get on Facebook too. Oh, and LinkedIn, just for good measure.
Step 4 – Remember all of that research Jackson did for Step 2? Yeah… Get the web guy to create a page that agglomerates all of those “resources” on his new website. A) It’ll look like he really knows his stuff. B) It’s great for SEO. C) With a resource like that, we’re sure to attract a few bloggers and e-journalists.
Step 5 – “Get the PR team rolling. We need to get our man some speaking gigs and a few key quotes in industry pubs.”
Step 6 – “Call our print people. We need to make sure Jackson gets published asap. Pull some strings. We need this.”
Step 7 – “Mortimer, make sure jackson blogs once per week. Yes, make him if he doesn’t want to. Same with Twitter. I want a daily tweet from him, with a link to something we own. Wait… on second thought, never mind. We’ll let Legal handle all that.”
Step 8 – “Make sure that Jackson’s personal website looks nothing like ours, but throw in an easy-to-spot disclaimer that clearly identifies him/her as our employee. No sense throwing bait without the hook. Yes, our company name needs to be italicized.”
Step 9 – “Call the PR team again. Let’s make sure everyone knows we’ve named Jackson VP of Social Business. Yeah, contact all the big bloggers too. Some of them might share the info with their networks. Oh, and email our clients. Yes, all of them.”
Step 10 – “Book a few rooms for SxSW and Blogworld. Jackson needs to be seen. Let’s see if we can sponsor a party while we’re there too. We have some leftover marketing money from that thing last month anyway.”
Voila. Before you know it, someone with zero background in the space as of three months ago is suddenly an expert working with Fortune 100 clients for a prominent consulting firm. Just. Like. That.
Smoke, mirrors, and the proverbial wool in the age of Google: Wrapping it all up with a simple job title
Now imagine you’re a company looking to build a Social Media program, and you don’t know where to start. The consulting firm you work with comes to you with a Social Media consulting package. They introduce you to their “expert,” Their VP of Social Business, with his own team of social media consultants. You google the guy. You find his website. You find the extensive list of resources he linked to on his website, along with a handful of quickly drafted $150 reports done internally by research interns last summer. He has a twitter account, a Facebook profile and even a blog with a good dozen posts on it you can’t really understand, but they’re filled with links. Looks good, right? Why should you doubt any of this? Seems legit enough.
After all, why should you doubt marketing from a company looking to generate millions of dollars in Social Media consulting fees after an investment of less than $10K in web design and PR? Hell, they didn’t even need to staff up. All they did was shuffle a few consultants around then printed them new business cards to reflect their new… expertise. Bam. Instant new service offering.
This isn’t theory. It isn’t a what if scenario. This is all too real. This actually happens, and it happens within very large, reputable firms as well as small fly-by-night ones.
All of this to say: Be cautious. Do your homework – not just on the firm itself, as it might otherwise have a stellar reputation and an impressive list of clients, but more specifically on the “experts” your consulting partners bring to your table. Just because a company you hire to help you tells you their experts are indeed experts doesn’t make them so. Do your homework. Research the “experts.” Don’t let well-designed websites and fancy titles fool you.
7 simple ways to separate legitimate professionals from manufactured experts
Here are some things to look for before you throw your money away on a complete disaster:
1. EVERY person worthy of occupying a Director or VP level position in the Social Media, Social Business or Social Communications space has been involved in some sort of social/digital publishing for 3-5+ years. Typically, this manifests itself as a blog. Case in point: NML’s Chris Brogan and Keith Burtis, Francois Gossieaux, Geoff Livingston, Valeria Maltoni, Orange’s Yann Gourvennec, Neville Hobson, R6’s Amber Naslund, Ford’s Scott Monty, Seth Godin, Brian Solis, Jeremiah Owyang, Edelman’s David Armano, Ogilvy’s John Bell, … All have been actively involved in the Social Web for years. They didn’t get into it six months ago or just last year. They have been in it from the start, and as a result, they know what they’re talking about. These folks are respected in the space because they helped build it. They are the caliber of people consulting firms should look for in a hire. Period.
Find out how long your consulting firm’s “expert” has been blogging. Less than 2 years? Proceed with caution. Less than 8 months? Look for expertise elsewhere.
2. Read their blog. What do you find? Crap content just to fill a page 3x per week and provide search engines with carefully chosen keywords, or is the content actually helpful, well researched, shrewdly analyzed and intelligently presented? Does this person care about what they do, or are they just doing what they need to in order to “be in the game?” Does their content give you ideas or just regurgitate someone else’s articles and content? Speaking of original content, how much of what they blog about is THEIR content? (Hacks like to borrow and appropriate content. Get a sense for whether or not this individual really knows their stuff or is merely a parrot with a fancy title.)
3. Blogging isn’t everything. Lots of people have been blogging for 5+ years but couldn’t manage a Social Media practice if their lives depended on it. Who have they worked with? What have they done? What is their background? What relevant mix of experience do they bring into the role? Were they an SEO expert a year ago? And a day trader before that? If so, be careful.
Note: Though there is no clear path to Social Media management savvy, the individual’s story has to make sense. Maybe they were a corporate marketing guy who fell in love with the Social web and started incorporating it into their company’s activities. Maybe they were an artisan who used Social Media to tap into communities and figured out how to apply those lessons to business. Maybe they were a tech or a baker or a PR manager or a Customer Service manager who realized how Social Media might change the game for their discipline and have been tweaking the model ever since. Everyone capable of functioning at the Director or VP level in the Social Business space has a story to tell about how they came into the space that involves passion, an idea, and a very specific path. Look for it. Ask to hear it. Conversely, the manufactured “experts” don’t have a story. They just showed up a few months ago because the time was right to jump in. It’s a simple litmus test, and one that usually works quite well.
4. How do they handle themselves on Social Channels? Do they ever respond to comments? If so, how? Are they using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as mere broadcast vehicles, or do they actually care enough about the space and their role in it to engage, respond and participate in discussions? How fluent are they with dos and don’ts of various Social communications platforms? Have they demonstrated on these channels the ease and fluency that you would expect from someone with real experience under their belt, or are they merely “there,” kind of floundering?
5. Who outside of the organization and its clients can vouch for them? Don’t ask their boss. Don’t ask their HR person. Don’t ask their other clients either. You might as well ask their mom while you’re at it. Find validation outside of their immediate circle of interest.
6. In their initial meetings with you, do they speak more than they listen? Do they lead with a 5-step “program” or a “P.L.A.N.” rather than trying to see how to organically grow a program within your organization? Do they make you wait for even the most basic feedback rather than discussing possibilities and ideas right there and then? Red flags all. Once the sale is made, then what?
7. Do they care? This is a simple gut check. If they’re into it, if they are passionate about the space and what you might do together, you’re probably on the right track. If they aren’t passionate about any of this, then be very careful where things go. Social Business management without genuine passion is like a folk singer without stories to tell: It won’t go very far. Look for passion. Genuine, burning, infectious passion. Yes, even in a consultant.
Caution for now, but expect clear skies eventually
So again, be cautious. This line of work hasn’t been around long enough for professionals to be able to establish themselves as clearly to outside onlookers and prospective clients as, say, plumbers, designers, attorneys, restaurateurs or journalists. Nobody was a Director of Social Communications ten years ago. Five years ago, even. This line of work is still fairly new, even to those of us who have been involved with it for the better part of a decade, and in some cases longer than that.
Five years from now, the waters won’t be as murky. Hacks will have fallen by the wayside and those with a real aptitude for this type of activity will have emerged as clear professionals in their field. But until then, proceed with caution. Do your research. Don’t confuse a job title, a neat website and some fractal Social Networking activity for anything more than just good marketing.
Cheers.
I don’t throw this kind of response around – ever – but damn, OB🙂 – I hope I’m never a burr in your saddle. I think I pass your litmus tests on #3, and I actually think it’s a cool story. But I can definitely see how someone could’ve been propped up into my current position had management not been as careful and foresightful as they’ve been. It’s a slow process with lots of hard work and sweat, and we’re seeing that payoff. But now I’m proud of the honesty and integrity behind it that feels better than Jackson ever will.
p.s., yes I will be pulling a #2 and linking this from my tumblr site for posts from the smart kids. Thanks for posting this – will chew on this all week.
😀
Note that I am not talking about ALL SM professionals. All degrees of fluency are needed, and newbies are just as valuable as veterans. I am focusing on the very highest echelons of leadership and expertise in the space.
Someone with less than 8 months of Social Media mgmt experience under their belt might be well on their way to become the next Brogan or Solis. They might be the Steve Jobs of Social Media in 2-3 years. That’s cool. But that’s in 2-3 years. Right now, no matter how smart and talented they are, the probably aren’t ready to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to building a global web of Social Media programs for a Fortune 10 client. Know what I mean?😉
Expertise and experience go hand in hand. You can’t be an expert in all the intricacies of Social Business in just a few months. It doesn’t work that way. I’ve been working in this space for years now, and I still don’t understand it all. I spend hours every day learning something new. It’s a full time commitment.
That’s why these instant-experts worry me. The damage they can do when they reach the Fortune 500 world is… as severe to this space as the damage caused in the Gulf by BP.
BTW, I’m not worried about you. You’re on the good list.😉
“Expertise and experience go hand in hand. You can’t be an expert in all the intricacies of Social Business in just a few months. It doesn’t work that way. I’ve been working in this space for years now, and I still don’t understand it all. I spend hours every day learning something new. It’s a full time commitment.” – Amen and totally agree. I work for a company/manager that wanted to do it internally the right way, and we’re seeing the payoff that I mentioned above. So I’m not so much competing for consultancy dollars. But I do see enough in posts and tweets and articles – my own hours a day of scouring and learning – that what you’ve said resonates.
Thanks again for posting, and for your encouragement.
Driver’s seat – hah! Thanks for laying this out, Olivier. You do a great service to companies that may be on the cusp of hiring someone. References are always a good idea, and a strategic hire should be someone who’s well rounded and understands business strategy (including communications and/or marketing strategy as well).
Bingo. And you should know.😉
Well, I find myself at the opposite end of this post. (GREAT post, btw!!) I never claimed to be an expert, nor did I market myself as one. However, because I “sat at the feet” of some pretty impressive Social Media people, I learned…a LOT. Then, people who knew nothing started asking me questions. So, I helped…and I helped…and I helped. I never charged a dime, nor did I purport to know everything. Next thing I knew, some of these people I helped…were marketing themselves as experts and charging $100/ea. to teach all their knowledge. I sat back and laughed. I thought, “maybe I should have done it that way.” Nah, I figured, wasn’t worth being called out on Olivier’s blog.😉😉 Seriously, though, I just couldn’t defend that to my own conscience. So, I continue to help where I can…and learn from people like you, Trey, etc. Thanks again for another great post!
You have enough credibility with us (and with those who stole your time and knowledge) to be safe from scorn on this blog. Don’t be shy.🙂
Aw…thanks. (blushing) I’m touched, because I didn’t even offer Tim Horton’s. I know better…I’d bring Nutella.😉
Great post – hence why I have asked to learn from the best. You sure you aren’t just DYING to have me for an intern or assistant? Just saying.🙂
I wish I could afford to have a staff. *sigh* Not quite yet.
told you I would PAY YOU….(might be in pennies)
Hope you’re doing well!
Ooh Kat you’ve got competition. I’m putting my name into the running for that position too!
I’ll bring Tim Horton’s coffee and Timbits from the land up north!
You guys drive a hard bargain.😀
Olivier,
Another fine post my friend. This is why when everyone else here in Seattle was calling me a Social Media maven, guru, expert, or what ever was the title of the month I shyed away from it. I am a marketer and social media was a new tool I was learning and using along with the rest of us back in 2007 and earlier. I still don’t feel that I am an expert on the matter as it is ever evolving, but I have finally decided my knowledge and ability to legitimately educate businesses on its marketing use is sufficient.
Kudos,
Steven
“I still don’t feel that I am an expert on the matter as it is ever evolving”
So true. It seems like something new every day. Sometimes I think I can’t learn any more…but I get sucked back in and am fascinated again with something “newer” in the New Media.
The problem is that those of us who know that it’s evolving and value the constant learning are the ones who understand it. Or, as I say, the more one knows, the more one knows that they don’t know. But the ones that are selling ‘social media snake oil’ and instant results are the ones getting the business.
IMO, it’s all about the passion.
Either you have a vision of how the world will be a better place for people in the future because of what you’re doing or you’re just going through the motions and collecting a paycheck.
Passion keeps you in the game, it gives you stuff to talk/write about, it leads to plans and goals, to participation online, to being yourself, to an insatiable hunger for more, all the while sharing everything you have with anyone who crosses your path.
Fortune whatever corporate shill types specify goals with all manner of complicated restrictions and demands as if they were destinations. The little guys, on the other hand, plan to go “that way.”
Thanks for another winner boss.
PS – Surprised you didn’t revist Spark Mutton World Headquarters for this one. Maybe they didn’t hire Jackson or something. I’ll put a call in to HR. Sounds like just the guy we need… to man the parking garage.
😀 All you have to say is Spark Mutton.
I don’t know even know what Spark Mutton is, but dangit, I gots to have me some of that!!
It’s an inside branding joke.😉
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Scott Monty. Scott Monty said: Looking to hire someone for social media? Listen to @thebrandbuilder: http://bit.ly/besKW5 […]
I am very new to this. I am soaking up every blog, comment and insight. I also invest time and energy into reading, blogging, researching, commenting, and enjoying to the hilt this wonderful opportunity to reach out to our communities.
Karen
See? There you go. Great way to start. You’re doing it right.
Excellent post overall.
I would really like to underscore your point that “blogging isn’t everything.” Great bloggers are great writers. Senior trusted advisers/smart strategists generally are good writers. But that doesn’t mean a bloggers are inherently the right people to be running programs, especially if they go beyond the blogging space.
I’d also throw out a word of caution about self-proclaimed social media experts who point their number of friends and followers as validation of their expertise. Self promotion and personal branding does NOT inherently make someone capable of running programs for a brand.
Agreed on both counts.🙂
Great post.
I like to refer back to the good old “Clue Train Manefesto” – it laid out all you need to know about “social media” 10 years ago.
As an “old(er” guy, I remember all the eCommerce experts that sprung up in the late 90’s.
I was at FedEx and helped run FedEx.com. It was funny to have people try to pitch FedEx and me on their eCommerce expertize when FedEx was at the leading edge of the internet (still is).
Shaun Dakin
Winner – @Mashable Open Web Award for non-profits
CEO and Founder – The National Political Do Not Contact Registry
@EndTheRoboCalls
@ShaunDakin
@IsCool
@PrivacyCamp
That’s pretty funny. Solutions providers actually tried to pitch you guys?😀
Standing ovation for this post Oliver. This is the best and most comprehensive post on this matter that I have seen. Though I do worry that some will see this and have an ah ha moment and we will see a bunch of “new experts” pop up.
Expert in some fields is accepted. Law for example you have an expert witness. There it is accepted. SM it is not. We do not call the valedictorian an expert student. No they are leaders and best in their class – the same as the folks you spoke about in the vid and also in the written post. They are leaders because they and yourself have exemplified that they/you are committed to the educating and also continued learning of the field/industry. You all have spent countless hours researching, practicing and discussing the field that you are thought leaders and so far from (by self admittance) expert status.
To me expert is finite. You have mastered all that there is to know and there is nothing more you can learn. In some areas this may be true or was true but now with technology and sharing this just is not true. How can we possibly say that we have learned all that there is to know in social media? Impossible because tomorrow something new will be coming out.
I, if I may, would also like to add to this folks who come out and are teachers of social media. They promote and charge for classes for which they are not qualified. Sure let me teach a class on twitter when I have 10 followers and 3 tweets. Follower numbers do not matter but the level of engagement does. It maddens me that they get away with it but also the folks who sign on, need to do some due diligence before forking over the bucks.
Fantastic post and one that I hope creates change.
@SuzanneVara
I like your point about the finite nature of an expert. Like a blacksmith or a sniper. There comes a point where there isn’t really any further to go. That’s true expertise. That’s when you have truly mastered your craft.
Here, in case you missed it, check out this piece on on some “teachers” – perhaps not the 3-odd-followers kind, but just as dangerous: https://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/thanks-but-no-thanks-enough-with-the-nonsense-already/ Note: That outfit fell apart after a few short months. But schemes like this keep popping up.
Thanks for the comment.🙂
Oliver
I loved that post that you had written about that. Thanks for linking to it as it was great to read again.
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Almost painfully accurate Olivier… and I’ve been one of the guilty parties who (not with social media) has portrayed himself as an expert in things when younger just to cover up holes in the CV.
Someone told me recently it takes 10,000 hours, or 5.5 years, to become an expert in something. That’s a litmus test you can use here too.
David, I’m impressed by your candor.
I like the 10,000 hour thing. I’d heard that before, and it isn’t a bad way to look at it. My devil’s advocate question though: I’ve known people who sucked at their jobs even though they had clearly passed the 10,000 hours mark. So there has to be more to it, right? I mean, to be an expert, you have to combine experience with… continuous improvement, right? (Just thinking outloud.) No way to simply determine if someone is good at something or not though. Not for a layman. You’re making me think.🙂
Cheers.
I think if you suck at your job after 10,000, you’re in the wrong job. If you’re passionate about your job, it shouldn’t take anywhere near 10,000 (in fact, I like to say you should change job once per year, so 2,000) but that requires passion.
On the other hand, there’s a small part of me that thinks that if you’re crap at your job after 5 years you should be fired. Or shot.
I loathe the phrase continuous improvement too – if you give a damn at all, you should always be getting better at your job, but it should be because you care not because of some competency called “continuous improvement”
You’re only good at something anyway if other people think you are. Knowing it yourself isn’t enough, and if you’re good and don’t know you are then you’ll still sell more work via others than you might be able to do as a self-marketer.
That’s my £2 worth, and now I want a gin and tonic (diet).
“Or shot.”😀
Yeah… Well, we know that it isn’t always so. I have so many stories. Here’s one: When I was just starting out, I found myself digging into cost accounting models to justify some product redesign projects. I had been given a green light to redesign certain products IF I could turn the projects into cost reductions (parts, manufacturing, packaging, shipping, etc.). So I started digging. And after a few weeks, I started getting pretty comfortable with cost accounting. So, I started meeting with the CFO on a regular basis to discuss what I had in mind and get a second opinion. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that the guy didn’t understand what I was showing him. He also didn’t understand our cost accounting software (which HE had approved). When I discovered that our “system” actually attributed 3 different costs to each part in our inventory depending on what screen you puled it up on, he just about had a stroke. Long story short: The CFO, a guy with 30+ years of experience, the dude in charge of accounting (including inventory and operating costs) for the company didn’t understand the most basic elements of cost accounting.
But he did spend an awful lot of time upgrading his opulent lake house, buying boats and showing off his new cars.
We’re talking about the CFO of a company not understanding how to do basic cost accounting! He was the expert though. Or was supposed to be, anyway. No doubt, all of the company’s accounting was being outsourced by people who knew what they were doing. All he did all day was sit in his office and check his stocks between paychecks.
I have dozens of stories like this. Scary.
I’ll take you up on that drink now.
Most managers are idiots. Fact.
I think you’re paying for that drink.
Bring me some Australian booze.
Olivier,
Thanks for yet another sharply clear and exceedingly relevant post. It’s funny, because I asked just the other day what social media title would be considered more “honest” and less “fluff”.😛
I’ve become known in my organization for my knowledge in and experiences with social communications (specifically Twitter), but am very, very resistant to being referred to as an “expert”. I’ve just passed my first year in the social media space and fully realize that there’s a long way to go. Like you, I’m learning every day and continue to learn from folks like you, Jay Baer, Trey Pennington, and others. As someone who’s willingly taken on this role in addition to my day-to-day duties as a web developer, it’s important that what I do in these channels are properly reflected.
To add to what others have said here, I think a healthy dose of hubris, coupled with the ability to make mistakes and own up to them, goes alongside the passion in finding the true social media experts. Also, experts need to be able to honestly tell clients when social media use is unnecessary or a bad decision when approached. Just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should. Anyone worth their salt will tell you when it’s the right moment.
Mike
Yep. Though you know, whenever I hear someone being introduced as a company’s “resident expert,” that doesn’t sound bad. Actually, it’s kind of refreshing because it’s implied that the person knows a lot but isn’t pretending to be have a PhD in social media astrophysics. You have nothing to worry about, Mike. Your integrity speaks volumes.
You make great points here. I totally agree.
Olivier,
I spoke immediately after you at UnGeeked MKE. I’m sorry I didn’t get to join your breakout session. I would have liked to hear more from you. As usual, spot on.
I loved the video. I was actually head nodding and fist bumping the screen. I also think there is danger in labeling someone as “Social Media” anything, because it misses the point. I see social media as a tool for marketing, branding, relationship building, customer service and business development. It takes niche expertise behind the tools to implement them well in each of the disciplines I mentioned.
I can know every single thing there is to know about a hammer, and every different type of hammer out there. It doesn’t make me a carpenter.
Pow! Exactly!!! You nailed it.🙂 (No pun intended.)
The whole “expert” title is a slippery slope. I’ve read numerous posts about it, and really what can you do? It’s such a new space with fuzzy metrics for success that anyone can call themselves an expert and get away with it in the eyes of the uninformed. It’s not like other areas requiring education (medical) and/or measurable success (finance). Even as a Marketer you would need some results (sales, exposure, brand awareness) that are all clearly measurable and reportable.
I’m not saying that there are no measurement metrics within social media. I’m simply saying that people can fall for false metrics that may or may not matter – the best example being followers/friends.
Since I’m from an agency as opposed to a consultancy, I can only speak from our perspective. We have produced successful campaigns for major brands where social media was a large component (brand hubs, live events, personalities, etc). We also do have employees within Social Media, however none are proclaimed (self or otherwise) “Experts” – simply well studied professionals who have had success within Marketing via their own personal efforts as well as with other marketing channels. Thus we don’t sell our services because we have “Experts” – we sell our services because we are storytellers, and social media is a fantastic way to tell a brand story. It has to be part of a larger strategy though. Social media can’t succeed in a silo.
Many people have found success in Social Media and I personally consider them experts – Gary V, Jay Baer, Jason Falls, Chris Brogan, and the list goes on. Outside of the Social Media moguls, I think we’re all on a very similar playing field and anyone who claims otherwise is just blowing smoke.
As Brian Diggs said in a previous comment, “It’s all about passion” and I’d add to that by saying it’s also about commitment and caring. We’re all new to this space, relatively speaking, no matter who you are. No consultancy is going to have a SM Expert with 20 years experience.
You need to ignore the titles and choose your consultancies/agencies by proven results, abilities, passion, and personalities.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post Olivier.
Jon Thomas
Story Worldwide
http://www.twitter.com/Story_Jon
Solid information and taking a slightly different spin: It provides a nice punch list of skills/competencies to learn “if” you want to be useful in Social Media.
Can you pass the tests? If you can’t, what or where are the shortcomings that can be worked on.
Great post Olivier. Reminds me of when I was just starting to break into the field. I had done PR school where I tried to focus on social media as I saw it coming on like a fright train. In school I was seen as the guy that knew social media. I was even asked to help create a social media course with the programs director. While I found it all flattering, I just thought of myself as a guy that’s still trying to figure it out.
Once I finished school and was looking for a job in the space I still couldn’t bring myself to call myself an “expert”. I may have had a bit more experience and insight than the average person, but I’m far from being an expert. So, to get my name out and let people know I specialize in social media I decided to call myself a Jedi. It gives off the impression of some sort of expertise, but doesn’t make the claim that I can solve all social media problems.
I also totally agree with you that no one is really an expert. I’ve been saying for the past year and a bit that the space is too new and no one can really be an expert yet. There are people who get it, like the Chris Brogan’s, who do great stuff in the space, but really they’re just semi-making it up as they go along.
One day we’ll have real experts. One day I’d like to be one of them. Until then I’ll just stick to being a social media Jedi =)
Cheers,
Sheldon, community manager for Sysomos
A Jedi?😀 Clever.
I’m totally calling myself a jedi-of-all-trades next time someone asks me what I do.
So much more fun than management consultant
Better than calling yourself a Sith Lord. Much better, in fact.
what can I say? I need to let my inner nerd out to play sometimes (thankfully I’m in an understanding field to do it)
Thanks for your Vid! V Refreshing. V Enlightening.
I play on a daily basis with Marketing Directors, Brand Manager or Experts in Marketing who are dying to know or understand how social media works. (Or perhaps more importantly how it DOES NOT work for their company’s marketing ambitions.)
Marketing directors, VP’s, Brand Managers don’t gain this understanding by watching or even listening to other experts. As you suggested in your video, they gain an understanding, an intimacy, by EXPERIENCE.
Since the industry is new, its only natural to find many who position themselves as long on understanding but unfortunately fall short on experience. (Many Exec’s I work with have 20+ years of marketing acumen, with ZERO “social skills.”)
Hence the communications gap, and the desperate need for social media “experts.”
We all know successful brands are not born in boardrooms. If Social Media is foreplay to intimacy, successful Marketing executives must move up the learn curve rapidly by blending outside social media experience with their own marketing understanding.
Hail to the Internet. Hail to Social Media!
Ps. I once traveled the speaker circuit. Even had a publicist who booked events and filled my schedule. At one of these events a man came up after my panel and asked, “if you’re busy giving point point presentations, when do have time to become an expert”?
I stopped speaking and got to work!
Yep. I was just telling a friend today that if I speak any more than I do, I will start resembling the very types of people I am referencing in this post. That’s scary.
We just need to find you a fun brand to manage or project to creatively launch. Perhaps.🙂
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sheldon Levine. Sheldon Levine said: read this great take on all the people that call themselves "Social Media Experts" by @thebrandbuilder – http://bit.ly/bE5LGW […]
[…] recent post from Olivier Blanchard’s The Brand Builder Blog, More Buyer Beware: Social Media Roles and Titles are Marketing Too, really got me thinking about the impact that poor consultation (both internally and externally) […]
Olivier –
A really interesting perspective you’ve taken on this (and thanks for the shoutout, truly).
We’re wrestling with a larger issue that kind of encompasses all of this: lack of precedent. The companies that can attract or have the talent with experience can leverage it easily. The ones that don’t are trying to catch up, because they have to balance perception, reality, and try to get themselves a chance at a project or two to prove their mettle. It’s a chicken-egg thing, and sometimes I think it’s well intentioned if not executed well per se.
No doubt that there are charlatans all over the place that will chase the latest potential pile of cash and change their stripes just to try and cash in. But we need to continue pointing out what senior leadership in this space looks like so that we can cultivate all of the emerging talent and potential that’s out there and build a strong, sustainable foundation for our industry.
Thanks for sparking some good discussion.
Amber
That’s a good point, actually. Let me think about this for a minute.
…
Okay. I actually had to think about it. You make a really good point. Finding someone who can combine corporate experience at the Director or VP level AND have a firm grasp on Social Media program management, integration or development (much less all three) is a tall order. Very true: Many professionals who have been using SM for years don’t have the corporate management background to immediately be thrust into such positions. Likewise, most corporate VPs have been too busy managing their business units to really explore the Social Media space the way Community Managers, online customer service reps, and scores of other SM-touching professionals have.
It’s a catch-22. Agreed.
But there is a difference between appointing someone to the job with the intention of bringing them up to speed asap, and manufacturing expertise so that this individual appears to be something they are not. In the first case, the new VP of Social Business can start surrounding himself with people who have worked in community management, online reputation management, bloggers, online customer support folks… He can put together a project team and reach out to other companies who have built SM programs, and learn from them. He can work with a company like Radian 6 or Webtrends to better understand WHAT can be done and HOW. (You guys offer a ton of expertise, insight and training, even. Just by understanding what the tools are and what they can do, you can infer the opportunities and the processes behind them.) There should at the very least be a) a desire to learn how to do the job well and fast, and b) a certain level of transparency and honesty about the evolution of the role and program. You don’t have to show all your cards, sure, but nobody should be lying about expertise either.
So while finding the perfect candidate might be nigh impossible, there is a responsible, honest, dare I say “transparent” way of going about developing the role and associated services. Likewise, there is a disingenuous, false, dishonest way to go about it. The first takes time because people have to be trained. Execs have to go through a learning process. Building something like this is hard work. Maybe if you get lucky, you land some super capable people who move the ball for you well and fast. Otherwise, it’s just like anything else: Sweat equity and elbow grease.
And as you well know from working where you do, you cannot build a successful SM-related program (or team) by taking shortcuts at every turn. You find the right people, you get them onboard, you shape them into the best in the biz.
This is less of an issue when it comes to a “client” company – A General Motors or a Microsoft or a Duke Energy: They will build their internal programs at whatever speed they need to. Their business, their world, their pace. Cool. But it is a pretty serious problem when consulting firms do it: They sell expertise. They sell know-how. They are supposed to be the go-to guys when it comes to best practices, training, process integration, etc. If I hire a large consulting firm to help me build a Social Media program, to help train my new Director of Social Business and her staff on the basis of their telling me that Jackson – their VP of Social Business Integration – is a leading expert in matters of Social Media program integration, I expect the guy to be the real thing. Someone who actually knows what he is doing. Not just… bait.
The other thing I keep thinking about… It isn’t like head hunters have been knocking down doors to find people with Social Media management savvy or a solid grasp of the subject. The SM management jobs are there. Easy enough to find them. But we both know a number of folks who were more than qualified to help build SM-related programs who were out of work for months while individuals with ZERO experience were being appointed to those roles… in many cases with predictably lackluster results. Some companies try to do it right. Others just pretend. It’s a question of professionalism and ethics, I suppose, more so than one of practical experience. Either way, you’ve given me something to think about.
I’m really glad you brought this up.🙂
Such great insights! I’ve enjoyed the post as well as the wealth of comments here. It seems that almost everyone has spun this topic around on its head and covered so much ground. Right now I’m just happy learning from all of you guys. I sure have a lot more to go before I can get to your level of awesomeness.
Actually, it’s possible that my at least 63% of my awesomeness might be completely made up. 😉
Wow! Look at all these comments. I read the first few, but for time sakes I had to skip over the rest. Good article. Should help a lot of people who are shopping for social media help. And it should help ward off a few people from pretending they are something they are not.
All of that being said, here comes the big BUT. I was getting a little frustrated until the end and a few comments. You saved me at “passion” and “relevant mix of experience”. It all boils down to this: A person whose main experience before SM was marketing of a different sort that included writing, technology, strategy, management, etc. that may or may not have included blogging may have a good chance of just plain “getting it” when they jump into SM. Maybe they have been viewing the SM scene as a spectator for a long time, but from various lack of support in previous job function they could not join the conversation.
It certainly needs to be judged on an individual basis. Linkedin can probably really help with this. Just because someone’s previous job title did not say Social Media does not mean their experience should not be counted in SMM. It also means a lot of someone who is passionate says, hey, I am not an expert, but I know a lot, I am learning more, and I know where to find the answers when I need them – they are worth giving a chance. If you get a braggart in there who talks circles around you, and you find out they were full of it, well now that is what this article is about! #twothumbsup
Absolutely. The “relevant mix of experience” is pretty key. Every company is going to require a completely unique set of skills from its SM czar. Maybe that person will need to have a background in B2B, or distribution, or engineering sales in order to understand the company’s needs, market dynamics, internal politics, etc. A VP Social Business for Nike would probably look very different from the same role at Best Buy, FedEx or Bank of America.
One thing is for sure: There is no cookie-cutter profile for this type of role. In the last part of the post, I tried to throw in some ideas, but they won’t always apply. Although… in most cases, they should. Every major force in the SM management space today has been blogging in some way for years. I don’t know why. I guess it speaks to our interest in the space, for a compulsion to be part of it, to understand it, to connect with other professionals who saw the light first. I don’t know. It’s also where we all learned the basics of our trade, long before Social Media was the accepted term to describe all of this. Managing a blog is SM 101. It’s also a symptom of someone’s interest in the space.
I don’t worry about an inexperienced but passionate SM manager. They’ll learn fast enough. What I worry about is the inexperienced poser with no passion for the space, who takes the job because it’s a one-way ticket to the C-suite. The guy who is going to sit on his hands for the next three years instead of moving things forward. We’re still selling the idea to corporate execs. Every time some jackass takes one of these roles and delivers a big bubble of fail (or fake, even), it sets us back. That’s my fear.
So when respectable consulting firms start playing the smoke-and-mirrors game too, I get really concerned.
Thanks for the comment.🙂
You’re the master of calling BS when it needs to be called. Bravo.
I believe the scenario you describe has been happening for a long time in many areas of marketing — rushing to fill a role (with non-experienced people) as a stopgap to losing money. And the advent of social media has made the problem even more prolific.
If people/companies using titles as a cloak for experience would take a step back to focus on making the *right* choices for their clients, I feel they’ll create a better outcome for their client’s and their business.
Olivier,
Many thanks for the perspetive on a topic that will remain relevant for years.
I work in an industry (insurance) where social media marketing is in its infancy at both the corporate and agency level. In general, people don’t like talking about insurance, so it creates an interesting paradigm at the level of engagement.
The experience of sharing knowledge and best practices (much of it from the names you’ve mentioned) with an insurance spin, while opening people’s eyes to Mashable, SEOjournal and many of the other resources available, has been rewarding and educational.
It’s corny, but when co-workers or clients refer to me as the “Social Media Expert” I always correct them and say “…Student, and that’s your first lesson.”
Nick B.
@insuranceMHQ
There you go.🙂
10 years ago I worked on a BBS style forum for Saturn owners and deales that quickly turned into a Saturn owner dating site for dog lovers. (I embellish, but close) We lost control, but management was delighted, and brave enough to allow that to happen. The info we gleaned became fodder for ALL award winning Saturn tv spots!
(Check out H.O.G. Harley Owners Group for more social media ancestry)
A) social media is NOT new (media yes, social no)
B) Be patient and let these projects run their natural course BEFORE implementing the next rockstar proposal
C) respectable consulting firms have ALWAYS been about smoke and mirrors : D
Ps. I personally know of at least 6 people w 10+ years of social media experience. They don’t care what the tools de jour are as long as they’re relevant to the craft of marketing.
Exactly.
Great post. It is a popular topic and one that anyone working in the space is well aware of but as you noted I don’t think it is at all unique to “social”. I am glad to hear someone acknowledge the crazy assumption that you must be a blogger to have credence as a social marketing professional. While content creation, community management and some design skills come with operating a blog there are many ways to acquire and fine tune those skills.
I really think the industry will mature when social marketers stop grappling with each other (fighting for power) and start equipping others in their organizations (share, educate and empower). Treat social like the communication tool it is and less like an exclusive knowledge reserved to those who have been in the trenches for “years”. What “social” needs most is business managers, leaders and professionals understanding how they (note: they as in themselves without hiring an “expert”) can use this channel to accomplish their existing business goals, objectives and strategies.
@ChrisBrashear
Every HR, Recruiter, Talent Management person should read this post, because unfortunately the business line or IT line management comes to them and says “Find and hire a social media expert”
Puts them in the a bad spot especially if they are not in the social ecosystem which most are not to find, ask the right questions and finally hire the right person. The requester and the request filler are just in bad spots.
1 suggestion for these two people is to find someone in the company and by the company anyone anywhere in the company. Which might not have nothing to do the role or department to help. There are many of us not in the marketing, PR, or communications departments doing quite well in this space (well at least in the last couple of hours we have been doing pretty, because we all know by 8am tomorrow we have to learn again, rinse and repeat)
That is one time I made a business card up that my title was Social Business Renegade….many people that I highly respect in this space and look up to got a real kick out that one….I ran out because they wanted them (I don’t think I became a punch line…..maybe I should follow up on that one…)
Funny thing is I think I saw a snake oil meeting happening at a coffee shop the other morning…..
Hey quick question anything in the next 6 months bringing you through Minneapolis. I owe you a lunch, dinner, coffee, dessert, drinks, and breakfast for providing me with a second degree!
Question for you:
How have you been successful with finding and educating the non-echo chamber folks about hiring and building out this practice?
By the way I like the term you used Social Business Practice….allows for flexibility and growth.
As always THANK YOU! like the vid explanation too
2010 LYS SONUÇLARI
As always, you’ve led me to probe deeper into my mind in order to really think about the topic, and your post has sparked an enormous amount of conversation.
I have not yet hit my three-year mark in digital publishing, but I’m close. Regardless of this, I do not ever call myself a Social Media expert and laugh at those who do when they are clearly not.
For the client who simply wants to learn how to operate their own Facebook page, Twitter account, blog, and LinkedIn account; I am comfortable with finding out what their goal is, setting these things up, then teaching the client how to use these tools in a manner that will best garner the results they seek for their business. (Obviously, without a plan and a direction, sailing the Social Media boat will simply lead them to the rocks.)
Because I offer this service, I have used the term “Social Media Strategist” on my resume. I tell the client exactly what I can offer and how the service works. If they want anything more advanced than the tools I can confidently provide, or that which is beyond my skill set, I bring in a more qualified partner (a definitive Jedi) who takes on those tasks.
Often, I’m asked what a Social Media Strategist is, which opens the door for me to explain the above and clarify that I’m no genius in the field.
I’m certainly not a “Jedi” yet, but I haven’t found any other term close enough to fitting without sounding like I’m touting myself as an expert, or sounding like I’m a novice.
I’m sure there must be a line in the verbal sand when it comes to using exact language for this field, but I’m not sure where in the dictionary that line has been drawn.
Again, thanks for making me think so deeply (on a mere two hours of sleep)!
Tschüs,
Wendy Wells
A good post on a heavily debated subject, thanks for putting this out there. One quibble and one point. Quibble first:
I disagree with your pt #1 about background or skills to look for in individuals who hold these jobs. Yes, there are a bunch of really smart, energetic, and talented professionals out there who have built incredible names for themselves in the social media field, including all the people you mentioned. They become “micro celebrities” in our niche of the marketing and PR space, and when their notoriety is backed up by real experience they also rightly land the great jobs and speaking gigs and get lauded as the experts/moguls/etc.
But many of the smartest, most talented, and most hands-dirty-experienced social media practitioners I know and work with, both on the client and agency side, are essentially invisible (or barely visible) on Twitter, the blogosphere, and so on. They just don’t have time or inclination, or fancy themselves as skilled enough writers, to put themselves out there. Rather they are cranking through the really challenging social campaigns, wrestling with crises, etc, and becoming more expert at actually doing this stuff than most any of the public rockstars and book authors we all know and read.
In short (if that’s possible at this pt…) – a great social media practitioner, often especially at the senior levels, may not be doing anything at all around their own personal brand or content creation (blogging, tweeting, etc). Instead they are simply doing it for their clients or employers, which is the REAL experience that matters.
The other point I wanted to make: If you’re using social media for marketing campaigns, hire deeply experienced marketers who also are fluent in social. If you’re approaching it within a PR context, hire a PR rockstar with solid social skills. Same for customer service, and so on. Hire first for fluency and deep experience in the foundational areas that your social media programs are helping drive, and only THEN look for their social media experience and knowledge. Otherwise you get a bunch of Facebook or blogging or Twitter experts who don’t understand how to connect those to the campaigns and programs actually being run at the client.
Kevin copied off my paper. Even though I hadn’t written anything down yet. Which is to say, he wrote what I would have. : )
Thank you for your info, Recommended to read!!! i’ll bookmark your site and hope can find more hot info for the future.
usally i dont comment on blogs, but now i decided to support this blog with a commnet.
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Wow great post Oliver and even greater the quality of the discussion that your post generated.
Even though you are right in much of what you say, I have to disagree with you on the level of experience a senior executive should have to run the social business division of the marketing department.
It is very true that, because of the recent social media explosion, many companies (Fortune 1000 specifically) want to jump in the social media wagon and cash in on some of the billions of dollars that the same Fortune 1000 companies will continue, o better said, start investing in more social media focused campaigns. However, many years in the business does not secure that you will perform and deliver as expected just because you’ve been blogging or tweeting for a long time.
I’m going to use my personal experience as an example to demonstrate my point. I don’t remember if we talked about it before, and probably most of the people on this thread will figure it out, I was born and raised in Latin America, specifically in Venezuela and worked many years in marketing for multinational corporations down there were most of the time marketing budgets were reduced because, let’s face it, for Fortune 100 companies Venezuela’s sales volume was a rounding error. So we were heavily dependent on creative ways to market our products and innovate in our marketing efforts. Specifically we were using a lot of WOM and social media (back when social media was not a generic for leveraging on your customers to spread the word) to be able to introduce, launch or maintain brand leadership.
I don’t believe there is a minimum experience required to be able to run a division or department of any company, like Scott said is the strategic vision and the business sense, and I am going to stress the word “sense”, that qualifies the person for the position. Before Ford, Scott didn’t create (and I apologize if I am misinformed) huge successful social media campaigns; prior to become a huge social business success, Chris Brogan was just blogging and talking about self-improvement and life and Amber was doing non profit work. What make all of them thought leaders is the fact that they have a keen sense for business and strategy, they have learned how to leverage on the tools and channels and most important, they know and understand the basic principle of “communication”.
A lot of people posses the same or even more understanding of the foundations of social media than many of the thought leaders, the difference is that either were not in the right place or did not know how to market themselves.
It is a great topic for a longer debate and I thank you for having the courage to publish topics and discussions like this one.
I believe you should include yourself in the group of people above the next time you mention it. And thank you again, you just sparkled an idea for a post (in spanish but I will link it)🙂
Well said, Chri!😉 I know, I see your whole name below.
Apparently my information was not completely included in the prior post. Just wanted to let you know I was the one who posted it, didn’t want you to think it was anonymous.
Christian Lisogorsky
[…] I always respect where he is coming from even if I don’t always agree. He recently wrote a post on how some large agencies, dealing with large enterprise businesses, are manufacturing roles and […]
I just want to thank you for this blog, very informative.
thanks again.
Mie
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seem like now a days you just have to be carefull of everything you do, thank you for this great post
Regards
Clive
Great perspective and very applicable across multiple disciplines. I would also suggest meeting various consulting groups / agencies and also looking at the full-time/ part-time hire option.
In many cases mid-tier firms when taking their first steps in social media do need to be speak with a good sales person to get them across the line and may not have the budget for a true blogging guru if that’s what they need.
Like any part of business get exec buy-in and have clear, realistic measurable goals. And enjoy, it is kind of fun.
Thanks for the great post… Timeless even in 2012.
I’m glad I don’t have to worry about meeting all of these qualifications. My Klout score is high enough to get me any consulting gig.
[…] I always respect where he is coming from even if I don’t always agree. He recently wrote a post on how some large agencies, dealing with large enterprise businesses, are manufacturing roles and […]