Are Social Media Experts really all they Make themselves out to be? Some may consider the comment by Gary Vaynerchuk as a bit extreme when he made the statement "99.5% of social media experts are clowns" but it does, as Sonia Simone in her article "Are Social Media Experts Worthless?" suggest, if this is true then what are the other 0.5% doing that entitles them to be an expert and what are they doing?
Personally I would not necessarily agree with 99.5% and maybe choose an alternative label to clown (after all a clown should make you laugh...) however, the topic itself does reflect the nature of questions being raised in many quarters about so called social media experts. To simply be a power Facebook or Linkedin or Twitter user does NOT, in my book, entitle you to make the claim of being an expert. I will say right here and now, I also do NOT consider myself to be a social media expert - far from it and when it comes to the intricacies of social media Ibow to the expertise of a wide range of different sources and the advice a chosen few.
As was the case years ago when I was a Business Coach and again today working with the Internet, such terms or labels as Business Coach, Internet Expert or Social Media Expert are all too broad, they are difficult to measure and are to the wider market considered more often than not, meaningless. How can anyone be an expert on areas that cover so much? You simply can't.
What you can be however is well educated and have solid practical experience within in these areas and provide good consulting advice. You may find a particular niche and possible become an expert in that niche. These in my view, are the types of people you need to look for.
It is easy to find a lot of people who know a lot about everything that everyone else knows but little about what is really useful to your specific needs. The internet makes this general information freely available and if you have the time and the interest you can discover most of this for yourself. How you disseminate this information and your ability to apply this to your needs will vary from one person th to the next. I can read all about building a car engine. Does this mean I can do it? Not always. For me no - for other people yes they could go and do it.
In business and particularly in relation to Digital Marketing, we need to understand that there are tools and skills we need to varying degrees. Social Media is but one of those tools in your arsenal of Digital Marketing initiatives.In order to get any real value from the use of Social Media "experts" be sure to check their credibility. Do they understand marketing in teh true sense? Do they understand your business? lastly do they really understand Social Media in the true sense applying it to real B2C or B2B situations?
Sonia provides some great advice in her article but what I will borrow from her is the following advice in looking for those who do fit into the 0.5% bracket...
In order to really be of value to businesses as social media experts we must;
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Written by: Greg Tomkins
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