I really don’t get the “Social Media Expert” or “Social Media Consultant” backlash that is spreading across the interwebs. People are making snide comments all over the place saying “Well, everyone thinks they are a social media consultant” or “People think just cuz they use Twitter and Facebook – they too are a social media expert“. Hell, this guy’s Twitter bio openly proclaims him to be a “Social Media Consultant mocker”. And Micheal Pinto recently claimed “Social Media ‘Experts’ are the Cancer of Twitter (and Must Be Stopped)” in a flaming linkbait blog post. Social media darling Chris Brogan was recently quoted saying, “I’m a social media expert? That’s like saying you’re an email expert. Fuck off.”
So what’s the problem here? We’ve seen the same backlash for “SEO consultants” and “Internet Marketing Experts”. Just because there isn’t a license or a Microsoft Certified Exam for social media does not mean it’s not an important aspect in the internet business landscape. This importance has created a real business need for consultants and experts to help train and educate businesses that don’t get it. You people that bitch about it should a) spend your time more constructively and b) remove your head from the vacuum you live in and realize businesses need help with social media. Just like they need help with accounting, web development, and legal affairs.
Granted, anyone can say “I’m a social media expert“. You can do that with any knowledge based profession. I claim to be a “web strategy expert“. There is no license for that and you can throw your flaming poop at me all day long and say “Just because you have a blog and do web development, doesn’t mean you’re a web strategy expert”. What it boils down to is the fact that I can prove it. I blog about it here every day. Doug and I have an internet business podcast to help businesses improve their web presence. I help clients use their websites to improve their business and increase their cash flows. I am completely open and transparent about it.
I have never claimed to be a social media expert, but they do exist… Their names are Nathan Wright, Mike Sansone, Scott Monty, Robert Scoble, Wayne Sutton, Jeremiah Owyang, etc. There are many, many social media experts – does that dilute their expertise? No – it just proves there’s a market for these experts. These guys have proven they are experts by teaching you to be an expert too. Ask their clients or their community and they will back them up. That is what defines an expert. That is what defines a consultant.
So quit your jealous bitching complaining and embrace them – they are experts helping businesses use social media to reach out and have transparent discussions with their customers. That’s good right?
What do you think? Let us know in the comments…
Andy, I think that problem really truly exists with these people that are pissed that someone else is stepping on their toes..? Not sure if it’s ego-piercing or invasive to their own marketing angel, but we all have something to sell/market in our business. Titles are not only the staple of explanation (read: elevator speech), but also a quick definition of what we do. I DO think that many of these phrases are over-used and we all know they are abused.
Frankly, if someone doesn’t like it, then they just get over it… You don’t have to agree with everything, oh wait – I recently had conversations with a few folks that disagreed about what *viral marketing* was, nasty-injected opinions at that. I have had a conversation with someone stating that we shouldn’t claim to be *web specialists* or *seo strategists* because no one could really claim those titles.
Ha, everyone needs a title – I created my own damnit! Web Business Developer – don’t like it – let me know, and we can talk about it. Get nasty and you can stand by yourself in the corner…
Enjoy your day!
- Christian Connett
WEB BUSINESS DEVELOPER
SEO STRATEGIST
WEB SPECIALIST
SOCIAL MEDIA AFICIONADO
SOCIAL NETWORK MAVEN
P.S. Did I mention… get over it?
@Christian – I think you hit the nail on the head …. Get Over It. Nobody in business likes buzzwords but in the end you have to have a succinct explanation of your business and what you do. If you aren’t an expert (esp in social media) you will be weeded out right away.
A great comment came through twitter too from mikejcorey (http://twitter.com/mikejcorey).. He said “Depends on whether or not you’re worth your salt, not everyone is …… also, I have to say that talking about something a lot doesn’t mean make you an expert. Generating results makes you an expert”
This is a great point to which I’d answer that any consultant or expert “worth his/her salt” will gladly give you references or just point you to their community and say “dont believe me, ask them”
Andy & Chris,
I think you are missing the point of dislike with the coined term & the basis for that dislike. What the whole thing boils down to isn’t whether these people have expertise in the field of “Social Media”.
What has happened is this, it is now trendy to be a “Social Media Expert” and just like any other trend an onslaught of people are flooding to it. Where the problem exists is, unfortunately, the majority of people using the title are not knowledgeable. I can name you countless people who claim social media expert in their bios but I know can not deliver. And because of the flood of “look at me” types that can’t back it up, the title is tainted. Who would want to be labeled that way when there is so many people tarnishing it? Regardless whether there are experts out there that can and do execute the position successfully, they are drowned out. All aspects of “trendiness” apply. You have the lovers, the haters & the “just get over it already”s.
At least that is my take from it. I don’t make claims to have a problem with these people doing it as a profession. I enjoy talking with Nathan about the subject and find him knowledgeable and open minded. But I can’t say the same for a lot of the others that I have talked about about the subject and honestly there are other dislikes that are flooding into this forum. Like the “biz-speak” that so efficiently ruins all constructive talk for me.
–
Jesse
Jesse – you are exactly right. I see the same thing constantly.. I should have clarified that point more in my post. There are thousands of fakers claiming to be experts – especially on twitter. We all get followed by them constantly. I’m just saying don’t let that ruin the fact that there really are experts in this field and they should be recognized as experts and not bandwagon jumpers.
Im working on post now to help guide people looking for “experts” and ‘consultants” in any field away from the buzz word squatters and to the people who can really help them.
Thank you very much for chiming in
The very nature of social media is too dynamic to put a box around it, so how could anyone expect to get some sort of agreed upon title or even set of criteria for identifying experts in this field.
To reiterate a point you made, this isn’t like sitting for a MS cert, or even the Bar or CPA. There is no black and white distinction between those that “have it” and those that don’t, because there is too much of a gradient in the abilities. Huge companies might have to go out and hire some big name because they are guaranteed to know what they are doing, but medium and small companies might be able to get away with someone who knows less – and thank heavens they do! Damn, small companies might even be able to get away with handling a lot of the social media/networking/presence/whatever by hiring an intern or having someone internally do it – because there are varying degrees of participation in social media.
Now, I’m not playing down the abilities of those that live this stuff day in and day out – I think there is a point where you have to involve yourself and build enough experience to be _great_ at it. We know who those players are and you even named some of them. The beautiful part about the social web is a meritocracy emerges instead of some predetermined set of skills some group of pals say you should have and test you on. It will always be that way because the web will always change.
Honest question: what makes a successful social marketer? All of the technologies making these new social mediums possible are in their infancy. So to claim expert status b/c you’ve been doing it 14 months longer than the next person isn’t valid.
It was said in one of the replies, results will make you successful. That statement holds true for most channels. I am curious, so I’ll ask again: what measurable results will make someone a successful social marketer?
I’d love to see someone blog their thoughts to this question.
@Brian One great quote from that link I posted above re: social media ROI
@Kenneth thanks for the input… you make great points… And what most of these experts do is train the business to do it themselves – thus saving the biz time of having to sift through maze of “experts” who, like Jesse said, are that in name only.
@Brian there are several metrics to gauge the effectiveness of social media marketing campaigns – just like tracking internet marketing campaigns. These results are measurable (esp when compared to tradiditional, old media advertising). You have expanded reach, discussions about your product or brand. Your community can become evangelists (Search @TempletonRye on twitter). You can also measure it qualitatively… “what do people think about your product”. Everything on the web – including sentiment – is measureable.. And that’s one thing a good “Social Media Expert” will show you. They will be results oriented – not jargon oriented.
Here’s a good reference on measuring ROI of social media strategy -> http://arthuralston.posterous.com/web-strategy-how-to-measure-yo
Andy, very much appreciate your thoughts on a far too often used job title. Job title? Job whatever thing… If someone is talking of efficiency and ROI, he is not an expert in controlling, right? And if you are a good football player, you must be scouted by some expert? If you know how to handle your social media activities, you are good but not an expert…
The question should be what new job-titles can we all find in this internet era of social media experts? Mine is the ‘personal web manager’ … if you want to have a look… http://tinyurl.com/9ynat8.
What is yours…? Cheers.
I think the problem isn’t the “Social Media Experts” its the fact that many of them are DOING IT WRONG. It’s comparable to The Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons talking about his fitness expertise. The ones on Twitter that often champion their Social Media expertise rarely take part in the conversation. And if you’re one of the SME’s that do take part in the convo – well, this isn’t directed at you at all. Sadly, SME has become the quick handle of spammers and conventional marketers who are trying it out.
In the end, this will all sort out. If Social Media is truly what us advocates think it is – the cream rises to the top. If Social Media gets splattered and ruined because of the people that misuse it through bad technique and improper nomenclature, perhaps our faith in the religion is misplaced.
I like Jesse said above.
My problem — and this can be about social media experts or anyone else — is people who talk but don’t do. What makes the problem particularly acute with social media experts is the illusion that having a lot of friends on Twitter or Digg is the qualification for expertise. In my humble opinion, the qualification for expertise — meaning businesses should pay you money to help them — is if you are able to convert on that know-how to make a buck for said businesses. It’s super easy to talk the talk in social media, and even walk the walk when you’re talking about personal brand. But how many of those people have left their day jobs doing whatever else it is they do? That’s the question I want answered when I look in someone’s profile!
Nice post Andy!
@georgesmithjr i think you are exactly right.. I mentioned that on Twitter.. I believe biz adheres to darwninistic rules of “survival of the fittest”. the experts will rise to the top. But you are right on – in any social network situation you will have people claiming their expertise – I’m just saying they’re not all like that and some are indeed experts with that title.. It’s easy to weed out.
@Josh Great point! Like I’ve been saying it’s easy to figure out whose who if you take 2 minutes to dive into their business – which you should be doing when you follow someone anyway. A true expert is visible and their work speaks for themselves. A good expert is results oriented rather than jargon oriented. And best of all most experts have clients that will vouche for them if asked. Expertise is determined by results – and most openly share those results and even better – how it was accomplished.
I think that lots of people can demonstrate their expertise in social media by the size and loyalty of their community on the web. They build and nourish these tribes by sharing, being open and helpful. I am a member of some of these tribes and I call them experts out of enrichment by our association. They consult with me through leadership leveraged by relationship. I strive to do the same for people that I influence.
I am also spammed daily by others who may be worthy of listening to or following, and may be very knowledgable of socia media, but I choose not to listen. Most of these claim to be expert, or a consultant; however they display poor leadership in taking a “do as I say, not as I do” approach to find the money in social media. Relationship should not take a back seat to profit if you wish to keep a hard-earned community.
@Andy – not so sure it’s “easy to figure out”, especially in “2 minutes”. I’m looking at your site, and it would take me more than a few minutes just to check you out to see if you’re the “real deal”. But then, if I’m new to this, I don’t know what the “real deal” is. Circular problem, compounded by nebulous definitions and no agreed upon notion of what “results” are. Is it immediate sales? Long term image/brand building in the “community”?
It was said before up above someplace – ‘social media’ feels like seo from 10 years ago (maybe even 5 years ago). Would you entrust your money for “social media consulting” with someone who doesn’t have a blog or twitter account? Probably not. Everyone out there is having to build up themselves as examples of their own handiwork, hence a big emphasis on “how many readers/followers do you have?”. And the easiest way to get those big numbers is to talk about “how to get readers/followers”. I feel shades of MLM sometimes when I think about “social media” as a business and where it has the danger of going.
The world can’t handle everyone being a Scoble. I mean that in the sense of number of followers and followees – we just don’t have that much collective attention and time to divvy up amongst each other. And we don’t all have original or useful stuff to share which wouldn’t be stuff that’s already been said.
Social Media is basically the new SEO, and people will focus on the easily measured stuff – followers/readers – until the technology changes and measurement tools change. SEO was all about “keywords” for years until it became apparent that the relationships between pages/domain carried as much weight (or more) as the raw content itself. When will we see the race shifting from “most followers/readers” to something else?
well said sir. i think it is the saturation of “social media experts” that only talk about SM or do not know what they are talking about that bothers people. If they are on twitter, they see it a lot and the repetition bothers them. that being said. the same shit exists in any new profession. it is just so much more obvious on twitter.
Within my main occupation one could look at our staff and it would be apparent that I am the one with the most knowledge and experience with social media for professional and private goals. It doesn’t make me a social media expert, but I certainly can shell out a lot of advice based on my experience. I can also site the successes and failures of other users I’ve observed. It’s easy to congratulate yourself when you are one in an office or group that clearly “gets it” with something like social media, and that self congratulation is deserved but you need to be careful NOT to overstep your perceived specialization. Believe me I have to check myself often and every now and then I think I’m one of those little experts but I’m not. I’m just a user that had a lot of success and I’ll share what I believe got me to the place I am today, what I’m going to do to get further ahead, and how I think someone else can achieve a level of success with social media. My only price, just give me a beer or nine and know that your end results from my advice will only be as successful as you make it and ultimately will have little to do with my initial input. -John Pemble
I got on Twitter because of Wayne and I’ve connected people to opportunities, and learned more about my occupation. I also keep up with old friends.
I think some of this is coming because people want to make themselves feel better for having a title or they are on this machine too much and forget that others are not as fortunate to know what email is, let alone Twitter
Being an expert at anything, in my mind, is impossible. Social media is still so new to everyone; even the ‘experts’. It will be a few years before anyone can be legit in branding themselves as an expert in this field.
I’m on twitter (@jasondouglas) with 260 followers; does that make me an expert on twitter? I’ve been on facebook for over three years and myspace for over four; does that make me an expert on facebook/myspace? I know what digg, linked in, ning, and youtube are. I know how to use a hashtag. Does that make me an expert? No.
What metric is used to determine who is an expert? Followers on twitter? @ messages? direct messages? Re-tweets? Friends on facebook? Posts on your wall? Another question that is related: what determines if you’re an influencer?
People that call themselves experts must be using this definition to justify the labeling: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expert
That’s just my two cents. Enjoy!
~Jason Douglas
@jasondouglas
Andy,
As a social media expert, I think every person on the planet should call me and pay me big money to tell them to do the following:
1. Start a blog right away, you don’t have to blog about your field, just blog dang it!
2. Get on Twitter and spam the crap out of everyone. They will naturally be interested in your product.
3. Start several fake facebook profiles of people that absolutely ADORE your company.
Yes, I know I rock….
Anyone who has spent time in Germany and Austria knows that PhD want to be called Doktor in everyday life, which means in a middle-class apartment building, 75% or more of the names are preceded with the honorific “Dr”.
I think the humorous point is the same on Twitter. As someone said above, of course there are real experts or varying value (and valor, but that’s another story) but the number of times the words are found in bios is absurd. I know a man who is a rocket scientist and we all take pleasure in introducing him as such. If three out of four friends were introduced as “rocket scientists”, it just wouldn’t be funny anymore. Not that social media is rocket science :)
@barry I like your idea regarding community leadership as an indicator, although I in no way think number of followers determines anything – it’s about the value you provide to your community
@Michael – like I said above I don’t think it has anything to do with follower numbers.. it’s about value. Okay – so 2 minutes is a bit of an exaggeration but the point remains – it’s fairly easy to weed out the good and bad. I totally agree with you that not needs to be a Scoble – in fact I dont even think the internet could handle that kind of bandwidth. Expertise does not befall those who have the most followers – it’s earned through added value to a community and expression of knowledge and passion on the subject. I agree that it’s the new SEO but you are wrong both are measurable if you know your goals ahead of time
@jakrose You are exactly correct – it’s going to happen with every new profession.. and the beauty of twitter is if you don’t like their noise than don’t follow them…
@johnpemble I think we all are having a semantic disconnect regarding the meaning of an expert – which is something I should have clarified from the beginning… My definition of an expert (coming in an follow up post) is a person who is a) respected in their field b) a leader in their knowledge community and c) teaches others their ways and d) shows results. It’s completely subjective – which is where our problem lies it sounds. If you have success and show other people how to do it – you are an expert… to them. regardless of your self perception you are considered an expert
@Kristen yes i self-admittedly live in a vacuum sometime and fresh voices are always welcome to set us straight .. that’s what I was attempting with this post
@Jason – back to the semantics of an expert but like I’ve said before, I think results are also a good sign of an expert and in the age of the web – everything is measurable with defined goals.
@Justin we are having a great discussion, please don’t patronize us
@randulo it’s very absurd – you are correct. I completely recognize that problem and have no proposed solution to that.. I just don’t think the real experts deserve to be classified under such a brash generalization
Thank you everyone for your comments – this is a great discussion
Disclaimer: I think people that are good at explaining how to use Twitter are great at putting companies in touch with their customers. But I just want to give my thoughts on why I think this backlash exists:
We’ve been putting up with the methods of traditional marketing for some time now. We’re willing to sit through commercials, flip through pages of ads in magazines, and stare at giant posters at our baseball games. And let’s not forget telemarketing.
Social media is just another emerging form of marketing. And it stands to reason that it will get just as annoying as every other type of marketing that’s come before it. Quick example: The only reason a local company would follow me on Twitter is if they want me to know they exist (and a follow back). I’m pretty sure that Panchero’s isn’t interested in the happenings of my life. I’ll sort of put up with this if I like the company, or if it only happens once in a while. But if it becomes a marketing tool in such a way that I’m getting scores of follow notifications (or @replies) a day from random companies, then congratulations, you’ve just made that feature of Twitter worthless for me.
I’m curious to know if anyone knew anyone that was a targeted email strategist before spam was a widespread issue. Back then, when people looked at this profession and worried that some day it might cause trouble in mailboxes, I wonder if the targeted email consultant was upset at the backlash. I’d even wager that these experts were good, honest people explaining to businesses how to use email in a professional way.
These are all things that would probably lead to grumbling, but not public backlash. I think the ornate, overly-specific job titles are what did it. Think about it. Who are you more comfortable complaining about openly: a douche-bag, or a douche-bag who calls himself “Mystery”?
I think the main problem (and one that’s been covered pretty in-depth in the comments) is that of self-proclaimed “gurus” and “experts” that have suddenly popped up out of nowhere. Just because you told a client how to set up a Twitter account and how to converse with their audience – that suddenly makes you an expert? Hell, you could get that advice from Ezine Articles, probably.
I always feel that experts and gurus become so through earning it and recommendation. Tools change every day; it’s impossible (IMO) to keep up with every single one. So, if you don’t know everything about an industry and all its tools, can you still say you’re an expert?
It’s like any industry – it’s not a “backlash” because of jealousy; it’s a backlash for the damage these so-called experts do to that industry or medium’s credibility.
Sorry, wasn’t patronizing.
It was an attempt at sarcasm. I was trying to say that the fake social media experts will tell you right away to do steps 1 – 4 in my comment. It was aimed at comic relief in agreement with your post.
I will be more clear next time. Sorry for the confusion. :-)
Ahhhhhh I get it now :-) Sorry for calling you out like that!
@Neil – Hah I was also thinking about what that first email marketing expert did when the spam epidemic hit and their highly touted profession got a horrible backlash and all the sudden they became the enemy when in reality they were producing results and not spamming at all… I personally like having companies on Twitter because most of them are open to suggestions – in a sense crowd sourcing their business development. Granted, so many companies do this wrong and that’s why we need social media consultants to guide them.
@Danny – Yes, I retracted my jealousy comment after hearing feedback on that it was more of a problem of fighting through noise. I still don’t like generalizing all of these people because of “title squatters” that fake it.
I just want to thank everyone for joining in this conversation… This is why I love blogging because collectively I think we rooted out the problem…
1. How do you define expert?
2. How do you deal with fake experts? (spam)
And I think a sub question that bubbled up in the comments was how do you show ROI/results from social media. I’ll be addressing all three issues in upcoming blog posts. Please keep this thread going if you have anything to add
It is all about golf. I base everything on golf.
Everyone, more or less, has played computer golf or Golden Tee at a bar. Most folks have watched golf on TV. Some have been to driving ranges and some have enjoyed Mini Golf. I bet even some have played golf… at a golf course. A real golf course. Wow.
Of those – according to the National Golf Foundation – there are many classifications. I won’t go into it. But, most folks don’t even have a PGA or RCGA golf handicap. So you can see where this is going. like 2% of the world really golfs.
If you are a Golf Professional like .00001% of the world – you are A/ unbelievable, really fucking good (beyond what a mere mortal who plays golf would ever understand) B/ Get paid for performance (Not endorsements – thats like 50 people in the entire world who get sizable do re me) C/ probably don’t have to talk about it much.
The same as Social Media Expert. Or whatever folks want to call themselves …
Talk is cheap. In the end you have to tee it up and it is all about results – or as in golf a number at the end of 18.
Oh, and don’t cheat. We saw that it was a 6. Don’t put down “4″.
The self-proclaimed experts remind me of the folks that show up at the course with the $3000 worth of Taylormade clubs, the great outfit and excellent shoes. Most likely – can’t golf. they don’t last long around golfers.
All about credentials, reputation and results.
I love your analogy!
@dannybrown:
“Just because you told a client how to set up a Twitter account and how to converse with their audience – that suddenly makes you an expert? Hell, you could get that advice from Ezine Articles, probably. I always feel that experts and gurus become so through earning it and recommendation.”
But, to some clients, showing them the basics really does make you an expert. And they will rave and rave about you and recommend you to their friends/colleagues/associates. You’ve “earned” as much there as you might have doing harder work for someone else. You can easily build up a “guru” reputation amongst people that don’t know much on a particular topic. “Peer acceptance” as a “guru” is a different thing, but your peers don’t pay your invoices – your clients do.