Big companies, as if experiencing a collective Rip Van Winkle awakening, are in a frantic search to hire social media consultants to help them navigate the new online frontier.
Bloggers, including me, have been making fun of all the self-proclaimed social media experts competing for business. The Tweepsearch results, below, will give you an idea why. It shows that among the thousands of social media marketers on Twitter, there are thousands of self-described gurus, experts, strategists, stars, specialists, and a few superstars.
Who to hire?
What should companies look for when they’re ready to hire a social media agency or consultant?
Do they walk the walk? – an agency that doesn’t participate in social media, doesn’t have its own tribe of followers has no street cred. How can they engage your customers if they can’t engage an audience of their own?
Track record – have they done marketing campaigns incorporating social media that were original, had a point beyond just existing, and that actually engaged an audience? Have they been successful more than once? How about recently? If the most creative thing they offer is their ability to produce really gorgeous charts and graphs and Power Points about what they are going to do for you, look elsewhere.
Originality – are they part of the social media echo chamber, or do they provide original ideas and content on a regular basis. It’s hard work providing original content, and not just pointing to other people’s ideas. People like Hugh Macleod, Toby Bloomberg, Yvonne DiVita, Steve Rubel, Brian Solis, Pete Cashmore, Chris Heuer, Kathy Sierra, and a handful of others have been providing original content on a consistent basis for years. As Rebecca Leib noted in her Clickz article, Who Owns Social Media Campaigns, “If you know what you’re doing, you can greatly increase the odds of a favorable outcome.”
Generosity – do they follow the 12:1 social media formula: provide information and advice to others 12 times as often as they push their services. The smartest people in any field look at other smart people in their field as collaborators, rather than competitors. They brainstorm with colleagues, provide resources to them, and aren’t afraid to ask for or provide help.
ROI – do they know how to measure ROI? Are ROI and ROA (return on attention) in their planning process?
And remember: guru is something that someone else calls you.
Great advice. And couldn’t agree more on the ‘guru’ point. What kind of person describes themselves as a guru? Probably not one you want to work with…
Thank you Morgan! Well, there are 4,487 “gurus” on Twitter alone. Haven’t counted the ones on Facebook And I haven’t seen one yet who was a lama :>)
Thank you so much for pointing this out! Seems like everyone and their brother are listing themselves as social media experts, simply because they use Facebook.
The other point I would add into your criteria include an understanding of business and marketing strategy. Social media is another tool in a marketer’s arsenal. A great agency/consultant will not just create a single social media campaign but will work to incorporate social media as a key part of ongoing marketing plans to build customer relationships and improve the experience.
Great post!
This (the claimes, not the post) is rather amusing, but I can’t imagine that anyone (including the person who wrote the bio) believes it. I have worked with some of the most talented creative, PR, marketing, and technical people the advertising (loosely defined) industry has to offer and I’ve never met or worked with anyone who referred to him or herself as a guru. If you’re good, you don’t need superlatives. Your work and your accomplishments speak for themselves.
Edward Boches
As usual, BL, you opened the door and let in some much need fresh air. Thanks for the mention – I’m on board with your way of thinking. As we see more agencies jump on the “band wagon,” we are also seeing some dismal marketing attempts, using “social media”.
IMHO, many agencies don’t get the “social” part – or, their idea of social is far different than mind. It’s not about how impressive THEY are. Nor is it about fab, new tools. It’s about the people. Has always been about the people. And until they bring the people into the equation, their attempts at embracing social media will continue to float around the web like feeble 20th century ghosts – barely able to generate any interest because the people – real people – are actually engaging each other in the social net.
Hey. I love the 12:1 ratio idea. Brilliant. The formula, however, might ding one of social media’s leading lights. (A swell person, I might add.) Whenever the consultants out-number the corporate practitioners you know the market is in flux. Peace!
Great post, BL. Much needed.
#2, “track record,” trumps all of the others for me — I don’t necessarily care if a consultant is good at promoting him/herself within the social media space (and I certainly do not if the bulk of that expertise is focused on communicating primarily to other marketers).
There are a number of creative folks outputting some of my favorite, most “social-media-aware” work (e.g. Burger King, Dr. Pepper) that spend more time grokking how communities work and pressing buttons that spark consumer behavior than on personally demonstrating that they’ve “joined the conversation.”
Maybe I’m just being cranky (I turned 30 yesterday), but I’m getting to the point where even stumbling upon the words “social media” in someone’s bio prompts the same Clockwork Orange-style wave of nausea as seeing the word “guru.”
Absolutely right, social media is just a set of tools. They are nothing until they are part of a meaningful strategy.
I agree that you don’t need superlatives if you’re good, but I show you to several people who refer to themselves as gurus, or who use other superlatives in their Twitter bios, on the websites, and on their LinkedIn and Facebook pages.
Hey Josh – Happy Birthday! you must do a new dance video for TSDO. :>)
The consultant echo chamber is pretty damn tiresome. I’m with you – I want to talk to people who do great work in social media, not the ones who just talk about it. And yes, the words are getting like fingernails on a chalkboard.
Hugh MacLeod said it months ago – next we’ll have social media cornflakes, and social media sneakers…..
BL – never really liked the sound of guru .. how about queen of the mountain or king of the hill? or simply .. “diva” ;-) seriously, the people who I respect in the social media industry (or in any industry) meet the criteria you outlined. Honored to be included in your short list and thanks for adding your special perspective and humor to the issue that seems to spin round like a merry go round with clients never getting the brass ring but only disappointing promises of .. when their gurus turn out to be SM phantoms.
Best line is the one you wrapped up with…
And remember: guru is something that someone else calls you.
Good work.
Awesome post BL. This reminds me of a blog post that I wrote a few weeks ago about how our company choose a PR / social media expert to hire. http://scribnia.com/blog/?p=104
BL,
Great insight, as usual. I would disagree that companies or individuals dedicated to promoting themselves via social media can translate that into real world experience or work. In fact, hiring a great self promoter or “guru” without any real world experience is a scarier proposition than bringing in someone who understands the client’s business AND social media. I witnessed one of the so called “gurus” stand up in front of a Fortune 500’s conference and told their health care divisions that they should all be using Twitter. Health Care. Twitter. C’mon.
I’m not saying they can’t perform, but generally the folks that spend the majority of their time publishing for the masses are not applying practical advice for clients.
dave
I completely agree that you need to make sure the agency walks the walk. Today there are so many self pronounced gurus or specialists, however, not all of them actually have the knowledge and abilities that your company needs. So be careful and make sure you ask about each aspect before you hire on a specific agency to take care of your business’s social media.
David – I stand by what i wrote!
There are a lot of consultants who are more skilled at self-promotion than they are at anything else – i’ll agree with that, and I’ve often written about that.
However, the fact that you heard some loser talking to a Fortune 500 company doesn’t mean that everyone with a track record and a community is one too.
Nonetheless, a lot of people who do have a track record and an online community also are pretty good self-promoters. That’s because we like to eat and pay the bills. :>)
BL
There are several key takeaways I’ve enjoyed picking up from this blog posting and comments: 1) 12:1 ratio – give more than you take; 2) ROI is a major factor. If it’s not having a return on the investment of your resources (mostly your time), is it all for naught? and 3) And, speaking of resources, any social media task performed on behalf of your business should be tied into your company’s strategic goals – be they sales, marketing, customer service, etc. The ROI of social media investments should be relative to the benefits you have to gain. Therefore, if only 10% of your targeted customers are currently subscribing to Twitter, you may want to spend only 10% of your time on Twitter; and remember that just because a new toy is shiny, it may not be the most effective vehicle. Staying up on, and partaking in new media is as important as remembering and continuing to practice the established communication modes that have worked for you to date. Social media connections are not a replacement for in-person networking events, in-person appointments and frequent contact through phone, email, etc. At least, not yet…
– Kathy Cabrera, Director of New Media, http://www.carabinerpr.com
Regardng originality, there has to be originality of presentation. Quite often an idea is being recycled.
This statistic of gurus in the field is amusing to say the least.
As far as measuring the ROI. The tired and true method of measurement is to determine if sales are up or are sales down. Are you spending more or less on customer service? This is especially true if you are working with a company that is not a web-based business.
I never did like the term guru. There was always some degree of skepticism whenever I heard that word. I think most people that are the players and shakers in social media don’t even consider themselves gurus.
Great topic. Found your blog post on twitter.
Your article actually made me chuckle out loud! Thanks for pointing out what has become glaringly obviously to those of us in the social media and networking world. And using guru…if only I had a dime every time I heard it…I’d have my own social media company. :)
Excellent point: a Guru is a Teacher of spiritual wisdom, literally, one who takes you from darkness to light. When selecting a social media guru I would base it on originality and track record as my top 2 things to look for. Don’t let the blind take you further into the darkness it is the light you are seeking.
Great article. In my foray into having the communication with our users for a small tech start-up, it seems the large bulk of Twitter followers all have “social media something” in their bios. My favs are the ones following >1000 that have 22 followers. I’m sure they can show me the way…
I have also come across one specific a**hat that branded himself as a, ready for it? “Social Media Ninja”. I guess the lack of any comments on his six different blogs shows how stealthy he must be? maybe his efficiency in killing conversation?
Thanks for the 12:1 tip and the best line of the post was certainly the reminder that others label you with titles like “guru”.
I agree, Guru is something someone else calls you. Calling yourself a “Guru” is just for marketing.
thanks for the great post BL –
your points are key in my mind, having been on the recieving end of a “guru” and spent money on a “campaign” that was more than poorly executed and less than little care for my company, our needs and current (such as it is) brand. I am still finding my way on my own, and thanks to the help of the great twitter tweeps I am learning more every day (and thanks, just added you too). keep walking the talk. Shannon (not even a helper to a guru)
Hiya BL,
Love the post. I think you’re absolutely spot on!
Personally, I found it exasperating speaking to experts who are stuck at yester-year’s paradigm on what “marketing on the Internet” is. I find them to be true experts before but now, man, it’s hard to take their advice as trends and resultant behaviors have changed so much and not very many people get ‘social media’ – we’re still trying to figure it out too!
I really like what your point on being generous. People underestimate that it may look like 12:1 but really, when it works, it’s more like 12:A_LOT_MORE_THAN_12 :)
Cheers!
azreen
Hah… There goes that expert word. I like what I do and I am passionate about social media, but there are many people way smarter than myself. Take Chris Winfield for instance, who is probably one of the smartest social media marketers I have met. He is constantly teaching me new things and pointing out angles I had never even thought of before. Same with Todd Malicoat who has a ton of affiliate and SEO background that helps change the way he approaches social media. Dave Snyder and Tony Adam are really breaking ground on how to measure success and use the feedback you get from your social campaigns to learn and improve. Greg Finn is my go to guy for social media content and what is going to be viral or not. The list goes on and on, and I am sure to have forgot some people.