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Social Media Experts Are Scary.

March 20th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

scaryexpertThis is the kind of post that gets you unfollowed. A post with some very unpopular ideas. We’ll call it the Hitler of blog posts. And considering it’s a Twitter #followfriday I should probably come up with something a bit more butterflies and sunshine. Or at least margaritas and martinis.

But no. Not me. I like to live on the wild side. Kinda like companies who hire “social media experts.”

So here’s where I get in trouble today: I think this whole “social media expert” thing is getting really out of hand. Really. And not just because every other person with a Facebook account, a plane ticket to Austin, and a Twitter badge is claiming to be one. It’s because even if a true social media expert actually exists, calling yourself one is just another way of saying “I know enough to be dangerous.”

By even using the words social media expert it’s like you’re intentionally not choosing to say marketing expert. Because that would be hard to pull off if you’re not one. But social media expert. That’s easy. Have Twitter account, will travel.

Which is why social media experts scare me. Because by definition they’re not marketing experts.

DOH!

For all the flashing lights and shooting stars, social media is simply a tool. Technically it’s an advertising medium. When someone says they’re a social media expert it carries the same weight as if someone said “I’m a cable media expert.” Okay. That’s just one medium. Yes, being an expert of a medium does have value. But I’m not going to hand over a blank sheet of paper and expect my cable rep to write a comprehensive marketing program or decide what the best message is, or work on creative or manage the client’s brand. Or (gasp!) all of the above.

Which is what I’m seeing a lot of social media’ers trying to do. Using the term “social media expert” interchangeably with “marketing expert.” Which is why it’s so scary.

So with all due disrespect when I see iPhone app writers and web site designers and 26 year-old “self-employed” twitterers and mommybloggers claiming the title of “social media expert” I feel like I’m Alice in Wonderland. Falling down a really deep hole. Into a world where anyone can be an expert, and having a few years experience and barely any real marketing under their belt somehow confers the status of rock star. It’s like strategic marketing never existed. Like Elvis walked in and everyone lost their head and started throwing panties.

A lot of people with knowledge of the internet but little or no marketing experience are riding the social media hype to make a buck. Or launch a new career. And because a lot of companies don’t have the first idea how to proceed in the social media space they’re forced to trust these “experts” for marketing advice.

A train wreck we are a’pproachin.

So let’s digress for a moment. Let’s assume there is such an animal. The social media expert. The rock star. Versed in all things Twitter, Facebook, Flicker, YouTube, Vimeo, and you name it. Let’s just call them channels. Thing is I don’t ever remember any of my cable reps fancying themselves up and announcing they’re an expert. I respect them for that. Which is why I have an issue with the social media variety. The humility is missing. They’re not happy as simply the purveyors of media planning information. They want to be on stage. With the panties.

So panties aside, I trust cable reps to provide recommendations that include (quantitative) demographics, reach, frequency, GRP, CPP, and CPM for every channel on the line-up. Similarly I would also trust a social media rep for the same type of advice for social media. Am I going to let them dictate what percentage of my budget belongs in social media? No. Am I going to let them have carte blanche to develop creative and determine the best message? No. Am I going to trust them to handle Adsense and affiliate marketing? Unless they can prove they were too busy with clients to get anywhere near SXSWi, probably not.

What’s truly the scariest part of the “social media expert” craze is a lot of companies are getting caught up in the glitz and glam of social media and letting these “experts” have a go at their marketing budget like Mike Tyson at a casting call for America’s Next Top Model. And even a lot of ad agencies are parading their shiny, new “social media departments” in front of clients. Further feeding the frenzied perception that social media experts are the second coming.

Now don’t get me wrong. Social media and internet marketing are good things. And I believe in SEO, SMO, SEM, SMM, CGM, PPC, CTR, PFI, SERP, CPC, SES, and OMG. And I love love love social media. I’m right there with it. No fewer than a hundred beta accounts to prove it. Internet is an effective advertising medium. And social media is an amazing marketing tool. But it’s just a tool.

Kinda like the Twitter search tool I’ll be using later to check my #unfollowfridays.

Bloggers who pop the big smiley-face balloon of social media can’t exactly expect to be a twitterverse favorite, now can we?

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  • Hear, hear. :) Also what mathew said, above--that's basically what I was thinking while reading. At the same time, it's good to put in front of people.
  • Brent
    Hi Michelle,
    Great post! I couldn't agree more. I'm the associate creative director for interactive/social media at an advertising/marketing agency. We have been involved in one way shape or form with social media for the last 5 years. That's a long time in social media years but I refuse to claim we are experts and tell clients to be cautious when dealing with those who do. There are some really smart people working in social media but there are many more that are just trying to make a quick buck.

    I agree that social media is really just another tool it's not the magic answer to everything. It works best when it's part of a plan that integrates good old fashioned strategic thinking and strong creative. I've seen many failed attempts at social media marketing as a result of a company letting a so called expert run wild with an SM tool.

    Another issue I have with the "Social media expert" title is how can anyone be an expert in a medium that changes on an almost daily basis?

    I have been in this business for over a decade and I have seen this Instant "Expert" thing before. First with Art directors vs. clients that have MS Publisher Templates. Then it was Web developer vs. clients with family members who kinda know HTML and can build a web site for free. Now its marketers vs. people who are experts because they have a lot of friends on Facebook.

    Sooner or later the universe weeds out the snake oil salesmen and frees them to latch on to the next big thing.
  • I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.


    Ruth

    http://besttoddler.com
  • Well I followed you after seeing this post, so there ;)

    I agree there's a lot of people that are now identifying themselves as 'social media experts'.

    But while we always tend to focus/obsess on the individuals doing this, why is it that no one cares about the marketing AGENCIES AND FIRMS that have started offer social media services, despite having any talent to back up their offerings? To me, these are far worse, because they are pitching social media services to existing clients, just in an effort to make a fast buck. I've heard horror stories of firms charging SEVERAL hundred dollars PER BLOG POST. As long as they had 'the right keywords targeted', then the client was just fine with it.

    Why is it that we slam the unemployed kid on Twitter trying to improve his job chances by putting 'social media expert' in his bio, but the agency that's scamming clients out of money by offering social media services that they can't perform, why are they getting a pass?

    Something to think about, IMO.
  • All good, Michelle, but you say it all as if it was a new thing.

    Whenever technology throws up a new medium - or a new twist to an old one - you get your early adopters and evangelists who immerse themselves in it, call themselves experts, and try and build a career on it. Maybe they even write a book.

    At some point some agencies glimpse the bandwagon and hire them to impress their clients. They score, so more agencies do the same.

    This is when the number of "experts" explodes - demand is high; real experts are rare; and the agencies can't tell the difference between them and those bluffing and rehashing their way onto the bandwagon. A lot of these guys write books.

    Shortly after that the new media goes mainstream: everyone understands what the expert once alone knew, and noone calls themselves an expert in it anymore. The new media becomes just another tool in the toolbox. The "Dummies for ..." edition hits the shelves.

    By this stage our original expert has either:
    a) moved on to a new field to be an expert in that
    b) had kids, got a mortgage and become a manager
    c) written a book bemoaning the Johnny-Come-Latelies ruining his/her field

    None of this is new. Or does nobody else here remember what it was like to know HTML before everybody else? I must be getting old.
  • I am a little tired of people doing two things lately:
    1)Trying to pigeon-hole other people into categories like "Social Media Expert" and
    2)Whining about the proliferation of alleged "Social Media Experts"

    This is a new field of study, and it is changing faster than most can keep up with.
    BUT...

    It seems that this meme is part of a semi-organized campaign to sort out some kind of 'pecking order' of A-listers and B-listers and so on.

    I prefer to let it sort itself out. Because it will, just wait and see.
  • Just started following you on Twitter and love love love this post.

    We've seen fake "experts" crawl out of the woodwork every time an online strategy shows signs of success - SEO, SEM, affiliate marketing.

    While an agency might want a person or a few people who focus on social media, they should already be versed in marketing. New tools emerge every day, but marketing strategies remain the same.
  • Well said, Social media expert, oh how it makes me cringe. Any pimple face kid with a Facebook page and a blog about his late model Honda Civic can call themselves an expert.

    The problem in that the companies hire them because they throw out words they never heard of. HR departments who do the hiring are buzz word people to begin with. How many times have you seen ads for jobs like Graphic Design must be expert in Photoshop, Illustrator, Jave, Coldfusion, ASP.net, SQL, blah blah blah. Yeah find a designer with all those skills and offer them $12.00 per hour.

    So now they throw out looking for a social network expert must have a Facebook Page, Twitter account and YouTube channel. They apply go to the interview and mention Friendfeed and the HR person says "Wow I never heard of that" you must be an expert.

    To funny. Love the post
  • Anonymous
    can't help but here the term "snake oil sales" screaming in my head. It's not that there's not intrinsic value in the snake oil, but more in how it's being sold or shopped. Have witnessed too many agencies propping themselves as experts to clients, and then barely even being able to communicate the what, who, how internally. great post.
  • This piece is right-on. While the company I work for does a lot in the social space, it is one of many ways to engage customers. I have also said that we are just students writing the curriculum for other students.

    Saying you're a "social media expert" is about as useful as being a "Web 2.0" expert. Silly.
  • Michelle,

    Well said. Social media is so new, anyone who positions themselves as an expert isn't. It is a channel that is still evolving. I've learned a lot but there's much to learn and much to discover how it can best be used as a marketing tool. I'm enthusiastic at the potential it has for our industry but I don't think we've even begun to imagine how revolutionary it is.
  • Designers and Art Directors have been dealing with this sort of thing, since, well since people started having opinions. If everyone is an Art Director, or thinks they are, then anyone can be a Social Media Expert.

    It seems we have to apply the same sort of the criteria for aptitude as we do for any other creative job. The challenge for anyone who claims to be an expert (SM or otherwise) is to demonstrate a track record of successful outcomes.

    IMO
  • Thanks! Glad I didn't have to duck any rotten tomatoes! At least not yet ;)

    And Ari, I love what you said about the social media field moving faster than we can blink. So true. Things change so fast. Any marketer (social or otherwise) worth their salt should be happy to be known as a "proactive learner." That's about where the "expert" status tops out in this realm. Because every day is different than the one before.
  • Don't worry Michelle, there are plenty of us who will still follow you on Twitter. We might not admit to it, but... :)

    Seriously, I have to agree with you in that I don't understand how anyone can be an "expert" in a field that is changing faster than we can blink. When it comes to social media/new media/digital media/Web 2.0, the only thing that makes you an "expert" is admitting that you're doing a better job than others at keeping up, but you're still at least a half-step behind.
  • Good Stuff!
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