There's a divide in the social media sphere--a deep crevasse brimming with ego, greed, hope, misunderstanding, disregard and, mostly, confusion.
Social media experts are clashing with search engine optimizers and social media divas and gurus are gutting each other with harsh, 140-character lashings--all while eager but mistaken marketers and companies are shooting blanks.
Because social-media needs differ from person to person and from industry to industry, it can be difficult to shape.
But that's the thing--it doesn't necessarily need to be "shaped".
The chaos is part of the concept; however, humans and companies often see the most benefits when they approach social marketing with a plan or loose map.
So who helps give those plan? A "social media expert" (SME), right? Well, that's what everyone's calling themselves now.
But what the heck does that mean?
Let's have a meaningful conversation about what defines a SME .
So--What qualities a SME should possess and what qualifications should it take to "become" a SME?
I'll get the first post going with some of my thoughts.
Posts
A social media "expert" probably should be:
ReplyDelete-um, social.
-open-minded
-curious
-a questioner
-an observer
-a big-picture thinker
-relentless
A SME should also probably have some of the following qualities:
-obvious computer know-how
-marketing experience
-strong writing skills/understanding of language
-an understanding of audience
-an understanding of client/self
-experience leading ad/marketing campaigns
That being said, I think it's difficult to narrowly define success in terms of specific qualifications needed.
For example, many successful CEOs never stepped a foot into college and many poor CEOs have degrees up the wazoo....
If we start boxing people in, don't you think social media could become more cynical and stagnant?
Social media...ego, greed, hope, misunderstanding, disregard and, mostly, confusion. OK, we see this everywhere why is social media any different? Social media is a little different because it can be viral, so it can magnify all the above.
ReplyDeleteYou've hit the nail on the head, Jim. Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDeleteI think we've figured out how to nix/avoid/run from that in other medias; however, social media is such a frontier that I don't think most people know who to turn to when they're looking for help with social marketing.
There's a couple things here--
1) Who are the social media "go-tos"?
2) How do we Effectivly and Efficiently market using social media?