Don’t fall for social media “experts”
Last week, I told a group of entrepreneurs that I wasn’t a “social media expert.” Then I told them, neither is anyone else, and if anyone attempts to make that claim to them, go screaming into the night. I called those self-described experts the “new snake oil salesmen of the 21st Century.”
Last night, I tweeted: “If you use Malcolm Gladwell’s definition of an expert having 10,000 of practice, then who can honestly claim to be a social media expert?” (Haven’t seen anyone raise their hand yet.)
Ironically, at the same time I was tweeting, two blog posts were making the rounds in the Twittersphere. Peter Shankman and Sarah Evans wrote a delightful piece with 25 “Ways to Tell Your Social Media “Expert” Might Not Be An Expert After All” while Ian Lurie at Conversation Marketing has an amusing “10 Questions to Evaluate a Social Media ‘Expert’.” My favorite way to spot a non-expert, from Shankman/Evans:
Everything they learned about social media they learned by reading blog posts (i.e. no application). You can learn a ton about sex from reading Kinsey’s manuals, but I’d still rather be with someone who has some practical experience.
For years, the most overused term in business has been subject matter expert. I’ve cringed too many times meeting people who’ve been too quick to play the expert card. However, in a new economy based upon relationships and openness, people now can see through the poseurs, whether we’re talking social media or anything else.
The truth is, there is a growing number of specialists and consultants who are now getting results for clients through social media. Those pioneers will be the first to tell you that their successes came after countless hours of experimentation and changes in direction. Those of us newer to the table are now benefiting from their lessons learned.
There are plenty of qualified people out there who can help a professional or small business create a social media strategy. There are plenty of people willing to work their butts off for you. Just watch out for the snake oil salesmen.
Your ideal social networking site
What features would your ideal social networking site have?
I ask after stumbling upon a post reporting that a new social networking site is coming in August that combines the best of what’s out there under one umbrella. The slogan for the new site reportedly will be “better than just nice.”
I have no way to verify the report. However, it’s interesting to see the list of features for the new site, which include:
1. Embedded Music Player 2. Private & Group Chatting 3. Personal Blogging 4. Photo/Video Uploading & Sharing/Tagging 5. Customizable Personal Pages 6. Group Creating 7. Apparel – T-shirts, hats, jogging pants, etc. 8. Hundreds of Widgets and Applications to add to your personal page.
Not sure I need my own line of hats and T-shirts, but maybe you do.
What if you had deep pockets (or willing investors) and could create your own social networking site? What features would you have? Anything different than what you see on this list? Small business owners, what you you like to have?
Let us hear from you.
Social media: Rewards outweigh risks
A woman asked me an excellent question about the risks of businesses using social media during a Wednesday lunch-and-learn at which I was speaking. Hopefully, she’ll see my answer here as she had to leave before I could give her an answer.
Her question: If companies engage people with social media, aren’t they opening themselves up to possible critics?
My answer: Of course, they are. But that is not a reason not to try it.
Why? Those critics have loads of places they can go to online where they can complain, hurl abuse or speak their mind about your company, products and services. If your company is not already participating in online conversations, the critic has the upper hand.
However, if you participate in social media, you can establish your credibility. If a critic strikes at you, you can — at minimum — maintain that credibility through openness, communication and answering questions or concerns. At best, you can turn a critic into a fan. Actually, that happens a lot. Check out the book “Groundswell” for several case studies where company critics became invaluable supporters of brands because they felt their voice was being heard.
In short, yes, there are risks in using social media. However, there are bigger risks if you don’t.
Hopefully the questioner will get her answer from here, someone reading this or elsewhere. The rewards far outweigh the risk — if you use social media properly.
Don’t let the spammers keep you away
Anyone who knows me knows I have never been a fan of Microsoft. Nothing personal, even though I am irked because Bing, unlike the other search engines, makes it pretty darn hard to find me or this site. I just prefer Apple or Google products, among others.
Even though my beef today includes a reference to a Microsoft product, the main point is one of the biggest frustrations in social media — marketers using automation to spam you.
This afternoon, I made a joking comment on Twitter after reading that Microsoft plans to start a music streaming service. I wondered what “tone deaf” name they would give to this service after earlier inane product names such as Zune and Bing.
Shortly thereafter, I had a new follower — someone selling Zunes on eBay. No damage done, I simply blocked them. This follower apparently automatically follows anyone who uses the word Zune in a tweet, then post links to the music players for sale.
I say this was all automated, but who knows, there are some really dumb salespeople out there.
For those just getting into social media, don’t despair. There are actually fewer cases like this than you think. Don’t let experiences with spammers drive you away from the greater good social media offers. Ignore the spammers.
More signs social media will only get bigger
For a brief time this afternoon, the words “social media” were a Trending Topic on Twitter. Why? Two articles were being widely circulated. The first was coverage of Forrester Research’s estimates that spending on social media marketing will grow to $3.1 billion in 2014. In other words, more will be spent soon on social media marketing than for email or mobile. (Still only a fraction, though, of the spend for search or display advertising.)
The other buzz surrounded the news that the number of moms using social media regularly has grown from 11% in 2006 to 63% today, a 462% increase. The research came from BabyCenter LLC, which runs several parenting Web and community sites, in conjunction with the firm NovaQuant. Their research also found that 44% of those surveyed used social media for recommendations on brands and products.
Neither story should be a surprise to anyone halfway familiar with social media. Businesses are adopting social media strategies at a dizzying pace. And it’s no secret that women over 25 are flocking to Facebook. (See chart mentioned in Tuesday’s post.)
I can confirm those numbers just among moms I know. That two-thirds of moms on Facebook figure rings true among my own circle of friends and acquaintances.
What does all this mean? Do you really want to ignore moms in your business? It’s just more evidence that professionals and small businesses better get together their social media plans. Or your competitors will leave you behind.
