Have you seen the joke being tweeted around that there are now more social media gurus in London than there are children? Could this actually be true, I wonder!
But on a more serious note, the social business world has exploded with Social Media Consultants (some may say gurus!) offering their social media skills to business owners in all shapes and sizes and it is no longer a marketing niche. All trades from Virtual PA’s, web designers and business coaches offer some sort of social media support and training. (Yes I am aware I fall in to this category, but never say the words guru, expert or font of all knowledge!)
Social media remains a relatively new industry to be involved with and working in. As a business owner how can you sort the wheat from the chaff and find a credible social media specialist?
Do Your Social Homework
For any new supplier check them out and if they really are a social whizz this shouldn’t take long to do online.
Here are some suggestions:
- Background – Delve a little deeper into the person or companies background to see just how long social media has been a service offering and what their social output is
- Social Status & Activity – How social are they, are they actually using social media for their own business and how well is it used. And I don’t just mean number of fans and followers but do they engage and get stuck in. Type their name in to Google and what results come up.
- Approach – Does their approach suit yours and is there an understanding of your business, audience and how to help you market the business.
- Does their skill set match your requirements. What specifically do you need help with strategy, management, monitoring and/or training.
- Recommendations – Ask to see testimonials and recommendations that verify and support their work.
- Results – What success, results and case studies do they have to share with you of their own work.
Social Time Served
This infographic by Social Cast details that 71% of Social Media Managers fall in to the category of having 1-4 years experience. This isn’t very long. And for other social media specialists I doubt that this is really any different in terms of social time served. So armed with the answers to all of the above you can make an informed decision about who is the right social supplier for your business.
As with any trade there are plenty of charlatans out there, who claim to be experts or gurus and will make false claims or big up their credentials. Social media isn’t easy, it takes time, persistence and complete understanding of what you are doing so it really is worth taking the time to find the right social media professional.
And as for the social media jokes, I am sure there will be plenty more of those to come to keep us entertained!
Melanie Mackie , Scarletta Media
Melanie has extensive social media marketing and project management experience and works as a Managing Consultant at Scarletta Media supporting and teaching business owners, solopreneurs and SME organisations how to be social and integrate social media marketing into their business.
Melanie shares her views on “Scarletta’s Blog” and talks about social media marketing, social networking and social recruiting. She loves working on varied social projects with start-ups, solopreneurs and SMEs who are just as excited and fascinated about social media as she is.
www.scarlettamedia.com – www.linkedin.com/in/melaniemackie – www.twitter.com/ScarlettaMedia – www.facebook.com/scarlettamedia
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