Social Media. Never have those two words been uttered more than in the last couple of days (note - that is not an official stat...). One of the reasons for this is the fact that Facebook have announced that they now have 500 million accounts. Everybody tells you that this means that if FB was a country, it would be the third largest in the world. So what? This comparison makes no sense to me as it does not represent the scope of Facebook, people seem to get all excited 'wow I can market to that many people?!?' No you can't, that much is obvious.
I'm going to be polite here and not use harsh language, but the Social Media world is full of puffin-poo...
Take twitter, on there we see a massive amount of people masquerading as Social Media gurus/experts/evangelists/visionaries and so on and so forth. Surely these are titles that can only be attributed to an individual via other? The real issue here is that businesses that have limited knowledge of the Social Media space and in-fact may be scared of it, see these people who claim to be 'gurus' as their saviours and from there ply them with cash for services that quite frankly are a disgrace to the industry and the nature of the space. I like to think I understand Social Media marketing and can help businesses to use the space in appropriate ways, with everything being built around setting clear and achievable objectives.
Would I call myself an 'expert'? Nope. I don't believe there are really any true experts out there (yet). The people who are learning to use the space (for the right reasons) and seeing results are the pioneers and potential experts of the future. Yes there are lots of people that understand the space and how to use it in the spirit of Social Media and have seen success from their activities but the fact is there are people out there ripping businesses off.
Going to a business and charging them to set up profiles on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc is not Social Media consultancy as far as I am concerned. Of course people need to know how to set these up in appropriate ways, but to go to a business, set them up and perhaps (if the business is lucky) be shown how to use them is just plain wrong. The business then has the tools to go and make a complete mess of their introduction to the space, jumping the gun with no aims, measures, policies and strategies in place. What then happens, is a broadcast approach that the business and their customers/prospects see no value from. Money thrown away to a shyster.
True consultancy would take the setting up of profiles (and only if the outlet is appropriate) as the last step, once everything is in place and there is engaging content ready to put out there. This whole cycle can be a time consuming practice but it is time very well spent. I put together a process a couple of months ago - take a look it may help you visualise the work that is required.
So please don't fall for the puffin-poo that is being rammed down your throats by the Social Media 'guru' who is spamming you on twitter, it may seem like a quick fix but it ain't! Before you get any outside help, work out internally what you want to achieve, then find an authentic Social Media consultant that can help you achieve those. Who knows you may even have an 'expert' of the future sitting in your office...
This takes me back to the Facebook country stat. Yes it helps us appreciate the size of the network but it does not help us understand the scale and scope of it for a business. Don't think too big, take a clear headed approach and you may be able to benefit from a small part of that vast pool of people. It may well grow, but not without hard work, engagement, empathy and open ears.
And if a Social Media 'Guru' approaches you and spouts 'Its like the 3rd biggest country in the world and I can get you a big slice of that tomorrow' please tweak his nipples and send him on his merry way.
Watch this video, it made Dave laugh, even if he was not impressed with the language! (Profanity warning!)
Cheers,
Mike