Listen here: You don’t want to be a social media expert, okay? You really don’t.
Social media is limited in focus and lifespan.
It’s *one* line of application in an otherwise vast business landscape that includes many disciplines, and many approaches to solving the related challenges.
That goes for me too. I am first and foremost a communicator, and as I like to say, a constructive heretic. While my role is focused and specialized toward social media, I didn’t seek out a career there.
I wanted a career that focused on communication and brand stewardship. I communicate inside my company. From my company to my customers. I help people talk to each other by making connections when I can. I communicate about what I believe, and I digest a lot of what others think (which emphasizes that communication isn’t always about what you say, but sometimes, what you absorb). I share what I learn. I push boundaries and break rules, but always with the intent of creating positive, progressive change that can grow a business.
I do those things with various tools, but always toward larger aims. Once upon a time, I did it with paper and mail. After that it was websites and video and email. Today, it’s Twitter and blogs. Who knows what might be next? But the intent is always the same.
Think Specialization Within A Field
It’s kind of like my life as a musician. I’m a flute player, which is my instrument, my specialization. But I am a musician first, and I apply the theories and applications of a broader music landscape to my niche role as a flute player. The goal is to make music, and I play my part with the instrument I’ve learned best.
Put another way, my friend DJ Waldow knows email. But he’s a marketer and communicator, with email as his specialization of choice, and where he focuses his expertise. But to him, it’s about applying email into a larger communication strategy, not a suggestion that email is the one and only thing. And he uses social media to help drive his larger goal, which is to help companies use email marketing for *their* larger goal, which is better communication with their customers. Savvy?
Need one more example? Look at these entrepreneurs, all of which you might recognize through their social media activity, but whose callings and ideas are bigger than the tools they use to get there.
Social media mastery isn’t the goal.
The goal is to master better connections. More effective communication. How technology links people. Relationships that matter, in context, to individuals. Business that keeps a people-focused attitude at the core of its actions. And with mastery in the larger idea comes evolving expertise in the tools and underlying strategies.
Beware of tunnel vision, my friends. Strive to focus on a larger construct: Customer experience. Communication. Human resources. Business development. Innovation. Entrepreneurship. And within that, if social media is your weapon of choice, by all means learn it, and learn it well.
But remember that social media has to be applied to something broader in order to work. It’s not the end game in itself, but rather one vehicle with which to get there, and one which will inevitably give way to something else. If you focus too closely on the tactical pieces, you’ll make yourself obsolete as soon as the next new thing comes along.
And in the name of putting my money where my mouth is, those blog changes I promised are coming in the not-too-distant future. You can expect a continued thread of social media and how it applies to business, but I’ll be exploring more in the context of communication, change-making, and what it really means to build community in the truest sense of the word.
Don’t get stuck thinking that the means is your aim. The social media pigeonhole is a sticky place to be. Find something bigger and more timeless to drive toward, and you can adapt to whatever the fast-and-fickle world throws at you.
image credit: James Cridland
Oh so very true! You use a vehicle to get from A to B. You use tools to build.
I wholeheartedly agree with your post, Amber. Mastering the current state of social media without a purpose, without a handle within a particular field…where’s it going to get you? As soon as the next big thing appears, you’re back at square one.
What next? Either keep playing catch up with the tools, or play the game properly and thrive!
Oh so very true! You use a vehicle to get from A to B. You use tools to build.
I wholeheartedly agree with your post, Amber. Mastering the current state of social media without a purpose, without a handle within a particular field…where’s it going to get you? As soon as the next big thing appears, you’re back at square one.
What next? Either keep playing catch up with the tools, or play the game properly and thrive!
The irony is that every client that hires me as a “Social Media Expert” usually retains me to assist in their overall marketing strategy. I tell people that Social Media is an incredibly powerful amplifier… but you have to have something to amplify.
Social media is simply another channel – yes, it’s new, it’s cool, it’s powerful – but it’s till just another communication channel. As such, you need to learn how to leverage it along with the rest of the channels to make the most of it.
Great post!
.-= Douglas Karr´s last blog ..Compendium =-.
The irony is that every client that hires me as a “Social Media Expert” usually retains me to assist in their overall marketing strategy. I tell people that Social Media is an incredibly powerful amplifier… but you have to have something to amplify.
Social media is simply another channel – yes, it’s new, it’s cool, it’s powerful – but it’s till just another communication channel. As such, you need to learn how to leverage it along with the rest of the channels to make the most of it.
Great post!
.-= Douglas Karr´s last blog ..Compendium =-.
You know why I don’t like pigeonholes?
They’re typically full of pigeon $#!!.
.-= Christopher S. Penn´s last blog ..How to tell if you are a doomed marketer =-.
You know why I don’t like pigeonholes?
They’re typically full of pigeon $#!!.
.-= Christopher S. Penn´s last blog ..How to tell if you are a doomed marketer =-.
Thank you for helping us to keep things in perspective. What you said makes perfect sense, because the tools we use today will be obsolete some day. And the skills we learn should be seen as part of the evolution of communication.
.-= Jake LaCaze´s last blog ..Do You Maintain Multiple Online Identities? =-.
Thank you for helping us to keep things in perspective. What you said makes perfect sense, because the tools we use today will be obsolete some day. And the skills we learn should be seen as part of the evolution of communication.
.-= Jake LaCaze´s last blog ..Do You Maintain Multiple Online Identities? =-.
Great post! Agree. Similar analogy to learning how to ride a bicycle. You may graduate to a mountain bike or racing bike or even a motor bike later. Faster speeds and all. The principle and objectives remain solely to get from Point A to Point B, albeit via different routes, journeys and speeds.
.-= Nelson Wee´s last blog ..My 3 Favourite Social News Apps for my Nokia Phone =-.
Great post! Agree. Similar analogy to learning how to ride a bicycle. You may graduate to a mountain bike or racing bike or even a motor bike later. Faster speeds and all. The principle and objectives remain solely to get from Point A to Point B, albeit via different routes, journeys and speeds.
.-= Nelson Wee´s last blog ..My 3 Favourite Social News Apps for my Nokia Phone =-.
Another great post Amber.
I was at an event recently where Scott Monty from Ford was speaking to a group of PR students from several Michigan universities. The question was asked of Scott when Ford would be launching a new model solely via social media. His answer was, “probably never.” Scott noted that social media is just one component of an overall strategy that would be used for a product launch. It was refreshing to hear.
The basics of public relations and communicating with audiences still hold true with social media. If you don’t have a strategy, key messages, target audiences and information on how best to reach those audiences, then your shiny new toy is bound be be broken in no time.
The pages where people sign up for social networking should have the disclaimer, “Some assembly required.”
Another great post Amber.
I was at an event recently where Scott Monty from Ford was speaking to a group of PR students from several Michigan universities. The question was asked of Scott when Ford would be launching a new model solely via social media. His answer was, “probably never.” Scott noted that social media is just one component of an overall strategy that would be used for a product launch. It was refreshing to hear.
The basics of public relations and communicating with audiences still hold true with social media. If you don’t have a strategy, key messages, target audiences and information on how best to reach those audiences, then your shiny new toy is bound be be broken in no time.
The pages where people sign up for social networking should have the disclaimer, “Some assembly required.”
>which emphasizes that communication isn’t always about what you say, but sometimes, what you absorb.
YES! Communication which does not reach and affect it’s intended audience is noise.
Social media is a variation on a theme. It’s an evolutionary step – no different in theory than the mutation of language itself as people moved from Phoenicia through the Iberian Peninsula…
Language adopts, assimilates, morphs and expands. That’s social media. A tool; not an end result.
Great stuff. Thanks, Amber. Best, M.
.-= mckra1g´s last blog ..mckra1g: Prayers, answered. RT @stephhicks: #Starbucks offers gigantic ‘Trenta’ – a 31-ounce cup of Coffee! // Current http://ff.im/gVRtR =-.
>which emphasizes that communication isn’t always about what you say, but sometimes, what you absorb.
YES! Communication which does not reach and affect it’s intended audience is noise.
Social media is a variation on a theme. It’s an evolutionary step – no different in theory than the mutation of language itself as people moved from Phoenicia through the Iberian Peninsula…
Language adopts, assimilates, morphs and expands. That’s social media. A tool; not an end result.
Great stuff. Thanks, Amber. Best, M.
.-= mckra1g´s last blog ..mckra1g: Prayers, answered. RT @stephhicks: #Starbucks offers gigantic ‘Trenta’ – a 31-ounce cup of Coffee! // Current http://ff.im/gVRtR =-.
I don’t see how it’s possible to “master” something as broad and far-reaching as social media. There’s simply too many moving parts and communities to achieve “masterhood”, not to mention the lack of any official accreditation.
Working with a B2B company, I often consult with clients who are 100% green to social media and I cringe when people use terms like “master” or “Guru.” Everyone wants, but you can’t just learn or teach a process and be successful with social media. It’s a critical piece of the larger communications and brand management puzzle and it requires the most engagement. But it’s not an eternal silver bullet. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Nick Brown´s last blog ..Insurance Journal CEO Mitch Dunford Discusses Insurance Industry “Paralysis” =-.
I don’t see how it’s possible to “master” something as broad and far-reaching as social media. There’s simply too many moving parts and communities to achieve “masterhood”, not to mention the lack of any official accreditation.
Working with a B2B company, I often consult with clients who are 100% green to social media and I cringe when people use terms like “master” or “Guru.” Everyone wants, but you can’t just learn or teach a process and be successful with social media. It’s a critical piece of the larger communications and brand management puzzle and it requires the most engagement. But it’s not an eternal silver bullet. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Nick Brown´s last blog ..Insurance Journal CEO Mitch Dunford Discusses Insurance Industry “Paralysis” =-.
Amber, Another great piece where I am extracting that you need to have a more specialized area than the overarching umbrella of “Social Media” Great. However, this being said I think many of the early adopters of social media technologies, the web, digital and all it’s tools get a bit hung up in semantics. Hell, people are still arguing about what the definition of social media is so how could anyone be a master of it?
I work as the digital and social media arm for a couple of boutique ad agencies. When they need a consultant to deal with anything in social, strategic, digital communications, setting up a blog etc. they call me in. Often times they are referring me to clients they do not scale to calling me their “Social Media Guru”. Puke right?? Yea! It makes my face curl up into that bitter beer face but the fact is… the clients are not insiders. They don’t care what the referrer calls me. They just know that I can help solve their problem.
I have been struggling a lot lately with my UVP (Unique Value Proposition). I have been working with clients in many different fields with many different goals. Frankly I don’t want to be known as the “Real Estate Guy” or the “guy that consults for hospitality” so I am focused more and more on not just the new tools but really getting under the hood to learn how they work. Just the other evening I created an image of what I feel like. Half Suit (Speaks the language of traditional business) Half Droid (Intimately understands the culture of the web as well as the way things work from a technical standpoint)
I don’t like to talk about ‘myself’ in someone else’s comments but I have to believe there are others that are struggling with this as well. Do I focus on a specialty? And what is it? I cant stand being put in a box with a neat wrapper. Or do I continue to serve my diverse client base where it is often difficult to define and communicate back to potential future clients.
This is my dilemma and I’m sticking to it.
Keith – back away from the tools for a second. Ignore the stuff about setting up blogs and social media and all that jazz.
1) Are you focused exclusively online? Know the answer to that. Either answer is okay, but that’s an important part of clarifying what you do.
2) What are you helping the company ACHIEVE through online stuff? Are you helping them build a stronger brand? Create advocates? Speak the language of the web to learn how to improve their products/services?
What you do isn’t about what you use. I don’t CARE what others call you. What’s important is that YOU can strip the jargon out of it and explain it in concrete, simple terms. For me, it’s that I help companies build a stronger brand via use of the web, and navigate the culture shift that usually requires. So it’s not ANYTHING about what tools I use. It’s the WHAT and the SO WHAT, as my friend Tamsen would say. The HOW will always, always evolve.
It sounds like your specialty and focus needs to lift up a level or two out of the trenches of tools, and more into the realm of what business challenges you’re helping them solve, through whatever tools make the most sense (and whether you know them, or need to learn them to make that happen).
This is solid advice. Another way to look at it is through the eyes of an artist. Is an artist called so because he or she paints, plays a musical instrument or dances? Not really.
What do artists do?
They create, and they do so from a passion that drives them. The tools they use are secondary. They are just physical objects that translate what’s inside them to the canvass. And that canvass can be anything.
What is your canvass? What is your passion? Those are the true definers in my opinion.
I would love to talk about this stuff more w/ you guys at SXSW!
.-= DaveMurr´s last blog ..Ready to Begin My Next Gig =-.
Whats happening is that I am blending my personal goals (study) with my services. For the last 6 months I have taken 2 paid courses in analytics and worked through both copies of Web Analytics an hour a day by Avanash Kaushik. Without sounding crass I know this self-study has given me a very specific level of understanding in the analytics area. However, as you say. This is very granular and just one tool in my arsenal that I felt I really wanted to expand on so that I would be able to bring more knowledge to the table when working with clients. Setting up these analytics dashboards that are useful to a CEO or CMO is just one facet of what I do, yet key in proving causation.
So when you say, what business problems am I helping them solve. My answer is the “Ones that need solving” I have worked through the questions that you give above and I guess I come up with two focuses.
1. I help companies and individuals reach their target market(s) through the strategic use of digital tools while gathering and distributing actionable insights to key stakeholders in the organization.
2. I help companies better understand the culture of the web and how to become part of a value add ecosystem through sharing, transparency, creativity, and community.
Wow! Am I getting closer? It seems like it’s a bit heavy on the buzzwords, but it’s the honest to goodness truth. I eat, sleep and breathe this stuff. As Dave says below… it’s more about defining passion. This is my passion.
Keith – I love you, man. But LOSE the buzzwords. They’re making those statements opaque, and I tune out after three words.
For #1:
You help companies communicate with the people that matter, using the right digital tools, and help them learn from those experiences to improve their business.
For #2:
You help companies understand the culture of the web, and how to be a valuable contributor to the online
See the difference? You’re talking to PEOPLE, not businesses. Use your own insights about what makes social work to talk about your business clearly. There’s always a better, more clearer word for the buzzword.
We can spend some time talking about this at SXSW if you want. That goes for you, too, Murray. 🙂
Amber, Another great piece where I am extracting that you need to have a more specialized area than the overarching umbrella of “Social Media” Great. However, this being said I think many of the early adopters of social media technologies, the web, digital and all it’s tools get a bit hung up in semantics. Hell, people are still arguing about what the definition of social media is so how could anyone be a master of it?
I work as the digital and social media arm for a couple of boutique ad agencies. When they need a consultant to deal with anything in social, strategic, digital communications, setting up a blog etc. they call me in. Often times they are referring me to clients they do not scale to calling me their “Social Media Guru”. Puke right?? Yea! It makes my face curl up into that bitter beer face but the fact is… the clients are not insiders. They don’t care what the referrer calls me. They just know that I can help solve their problem.
I have been struggling a lot lately with my UVP (Unique Value Proposition). I have been working with clients in many different fields with many different goals. Frankly I don’t want to be known as the “Real Estate Guy” or the “guy that consults for hospitality” so I am focused more and more on not just the new tools but really getting under the hood to learn how they work. Just the other evening I created an image of what I feel like. Half Suit (Speaks the language of traditional business) Half Droid (Intimately understands the culture of the web as well as the way things work from a technical standpoint)
I don’t like to talk about ‘myself’ in someone else’s comments but I have to believe there are others that are struggling with this as well. Do I focus on a specialty? And what is it? I cant stand being put in a box with a neat wrapper. Or do I continue to serve my diverse client base where it is often difficult to define and communicate back to potential future clients.
This is my dilemma and I’m sticking to it.
Keith – back away from the tools for a second. Ignore the stuff about setting up blogs and social media and all that jazz.
1) Are you focused exclusively online? Know the answer to that. Either answer is okay, but that’s an important part of clarifying what you do.
2) What are you helping the company ACHIEVE through online stuff? Are you helping them build a stronger brand? Create advocates? Speak the language of the web to learn how to improve their products/services?
What you do isn’t about what you use. I don’t CARE what others call you. What’s important is that YOU can strip the jargon out of it and explain it in concrete, simple terms. For me, it’s that I help companies build a stronger brand via use of the web, and navigate the culture shift that usually requires. So it’s not ANYTHING about what tools I use. It’s the WHAT and the SO WHAT, as my friend Tamsen would say. The HOW will always, always evolve.
It sounds like your specialty and focus needs to lift up a level or two out of the trenches of tools, and more into the realm of what business challenges you’re helping them solve, through whatever tools make the most sense (and whether you know them, or need to learn them to make that happen).
This is solid advice. Another way to look at it is through the eyes of an artist. Is an artist called so because he or she paints, plays a musical instrument or dances? Not really.
What do artists do?
They create, and they do so from a passion that drives them. The tools they use are secondary. They are just physical objects that translate what’s inside them to the canvass. And that canvass can be anything.
What is your canvass? What is your passion? Those are the true definers in my opinion.
I would love to talk about this stuff more w/ you guys at SXSW!
.-= DaveMurr´s last blog ..Ready to Begin My Next Gig =-.
Whats happening is that I am blending my personal goals (study) with my services. For the last 6 months I have taken 2 paid courses in analytics and worked through both copies of Web Analytics an hour a day by Avanash Kaushik. Without sounding crass I know this self-study has given me a very specific level of understanding in the analytics area. However, as you say. This is very granular and just one tool in my arsenal that I felt I really wanted to expand on so that I would be able to bring more knowledge to the table when working with clients. Setting up these analytics dashboards that are useful to a CEO or CMO is just one facet of what I do, yet key in proving causation.
So when you say, what business problems am I helping them solve. My answer is the “Ones that need solving” I have worked through the questions that you give above and I guess I come up with two focuses.
1. I help companies and individuals reach their target market(s) through the strategic use of digital tools while gathering and distributing actionable insights to key stakeholders in the organization.
2. I help companies better understand the culture of the web and how to become part of a value add ecosystem through sharing, transparency, creativity, and community.
Wow! Am I getting closer? It seems like it’s a bit heavy on the buzzwords, but it’s the honest to goodness truth. I eat, sleep and breathe this stuff. As Dave says below… it’s more about defining passion. This is my passion.
Keith – I love you, man. But LOSE the buzzwords. They’re making those statements opaque, and I tune out after three words.
For #1:
You help companies communicate with the people that matter, using the right digital tools, and help them learn from those experiences to improve their business.
For #2:
You help companies understand the culture of the web, and how to be a valuable contributor to the online
See the difference? You’re talking to PEOPLE, not businesses. Use your own insights about what makes social work to talk about your business clearly. There’s always a better, more clearer word for the buzzword.
We can spend some time talking about this at SXSW if you want. That goes for you, too, Murray. 🙂
I’ve never seen Social Media as something I’ve wanted to do. Rather it is something that allows me to do what I am passionate about: communicate, help, and share. The passion is what defines us, not the medium… hey, I think there is a blog post in that..
thanks amber!
.-= DaveMurr´s last blog ..Ready to Begin My Next Gig =-.
I’ve never seen Social Media as something I’ve wanted to do. Rather it is something that allows me to do what I am passionate about: communicate, help, and share. The passion is what defines us, not the medium… hey, I think there is a blog post in that..
thanks amber!
.-= DaveMurr´s last blog ..Ready to Begin My Next Gig =-.
I would love to see a HR/Staffing/Recruiter’s position on this. With “Social Media Expert” positions in such high demand, where does this net out in terms of making yourself desirable and demonstrating your expertise on a resume and in an interview?
.-= Jeremy Meyers´s last blog ..The best strategy: Don’t strategize. =-.
Lots of HR folks around here, so I’m hoping one will chime in. But again, for me if I’m job shopping, I’m going to present myself as a communications specialist, with an emphasis in online tools and strategies. Like your focus within your major. I’d tackle the interview the same way. What am I helping the company DO and solve, first and foremost, and how does my knowledge of online tools help support that?
And to my mind, if a company is chasing a “social media expert” instead of a well-rounded communicator that happens to have those skills, that’s a red flag to me about the company’s approach to all of this, anyway, and probably not somewhere I want to work.
I think that is an excellent point. Too many companies are focused on the “hip and now” and I can’t even begin to say how many job postings I have seen with the term “social media expert” in it. That term still makes me cringe a year later after we lamented about it at SXSW in 2009.
.-= Stacy Jill Jacobs´s last blog ..Family Photo Day =-.
I would love to see a HR/Staffing/Recruiter’s position on this. With “Social Media Expert” positions in such high demand, where does this net out in terms of making yourself desirable and demonstrating your expertise on a resume and in an interview?
.-= Jeremy Meyers´s last blog ..The best strategy: Don’t strategize. =-.
Lots of HR folks around here, so I’m hoping one will chime in. But again, for me if I’m job shopping, I’m going to present myself as a communications specialist, with an emphasis in online tools and strategies. Like your focus within your major. I’d tackle the interview the same way. What am I helping the company DO and solve, first and foremost, and how does my knowledge of online tools help support that?
And to my mind, if a company is chasing a “social media expert” instead of a well-rounded communicator that happens to have those skills, that’s a red flag to me about the company’s approach to all of this, anyway, and probably not somewhere I want to work.
I think that is an excellent point. Too many companies are focused on the “hip and now” and I can’t even begin to say how many job postings I have seen with the term “social media expert” in it. That term still makes me cringe a year later after we lamented about it at SXSW in 2009.
.-= Stacy Jill Jacobs´s last blog ..Family Photo Day =-.
I am a communicator.
I help people tell their story.
The rest is tool talk.
If someone needs help using phones, email or fax machines, I will assist. But that doesn’t make me a Phone Guru.
That is all.
.-= Ike´s last blog ..The Naked Truth =-.
Absolutely agree Amber – social media merely amplifies what is already there. In the same way that we used to have “Email experts”, so we now have “SocialMedia experts”. And in the same way the former died out as email became a core tool, so will the latter.
The exciting stuff is yet to come, when the mass starts applying social media technologies to their every day job. In my industry (publishing) I’m alread yseeing great ideas come out of the editorial teams I have training. How will your local dentist use social media tools? Will we have geotagging of fires, popular events, flashmobs? I can’t wait to see the first portable cat-mounted webcam personally, plotting locations on a map and recording the cat’s interactions and logging commentary from watchers.
.-= Blaise Grimes-Viort´s last blog ..A Day in the Life of an Online Community Manager =-.
I am a communicator.
I help people tell their story.
The rest is tool talk.
If someone needs help using phones, email or fax machines, I will assist. But that doesn’t make me a Phone Guru.
That is all.
.-= Ike´s last blog ..The Naked Truth =-.
Absolutely agree Amber – social media merely amplifies what is already there. In the same way that we used to have “Email experts”, so we now have “SocialMedia experts”. And in the same way the former died out as email became a core tool, so will the latter.
The exciting stuff is yet to come, when the mass starts applying social media technologies to their every day job. In my industry (publishing) I’m alread yseeing great ideas come out of the editorial teams I have training. How will your local dentist use social media tools? Will we have geotagging of fires, popular events, flashmobs? I can’t wait to see the first portable cat-mounted webcam personally, plotting locations on a map and recording the cat’s interactions and logging commentary from watchers.
.-= Blaise Grimes-Viort´s last blog ..A Day in the Life of an Online Community Manager =-.
‘The goal is to master better connections. More effective communication. How technology links people.’
Yes.
Amber, thank you for breaking down this topic (and conundrum, really) so eloquently. In a sense, the term ‘social media expert’ is an oxymoron. One can’t really be an expert in this space without having a clear understanding of social media in relation to PR, Communications, Traditional marketing/advertising, and Sales. ‘Social media expert’ implies that social media is the title-holder’s only area of expertise, which, as you pointed out, is dangerously self-limiting.
Assimilating the constant influx of industry news, commentary, and change is a perpetual challenge. This is the place (Altitude Branding, that is) I’ve come to rely on for clarity, common sense, and inspiration.
See you at SXSWi!
‘The goal is to master better connections. More effective communication. How technology links people.’
Yes.
Amber, thank you for breaking down this topic (and conundrum, really) so eloquently. In a sense, the term ‘social media expert’ is an oxymoron. One can’t really be an expert in this space without having a clear understanding of social media in relation to PR, Communications, Traditional marketing/advertising, and Sales. ‘Social media expert’ implies that social media is the title-holder’s only area of expertise, which, as you pointed out, is dangerously self-limiting.
Assimilating the constant influx of industry news, commentary, and change is a perpetual challenge. This is the place (Altitude Branding, that is) I’ve come to rely on for clarity, common sense, and inspiration.
See you at SXSWi!
Amber,
This post is right on the money.
As I get deeper and deeper into helping small businesses leverage Social Media, I find myself taking the elements I employed in traditional B2B and B2C campaigns and adding a Social Media veneer.
Successful small businesses know themselves, their customers and their markets. Social more than anything is a lever to help these firms do more of what they already do well.
Thanks.
Ed
.-= Ed Peterson´s last blog ..Using Twitter Search for Business =-.
Amber,
This post is right on the money.
As I get deeper and deeper into helping small businesses leverage Social Media, I find myself taking the elements I employed in traditional B2B and B2C campaigns and adding a Social Media veneer.
Successful small businesses know themselves, their customers and their markets. Social more than anything is a lever to help these firms do more of what they already do well.
Thanks.
Ed
.-= Ed Peterson´s last blog ..Using Twitter Search for Business =-.
I don’t care for the expert label myself, particularly in social media. The industry grows so fast and paradigms change. It was only ten years ago I was hired as the company SEO “expert,” back when all we thought we had to do was mass submit URLs to Hotbot! How we’ve changed.
Thanks for the article.
.-= Kat Lively´s last blog ..Approaching Twitter Users: Dancing the Fine Line Between Promotion and Spam =-.
I don’t care for the expert label myself, particularly in social media. The industry grows so fast and paradigms change. It was only ten years ago I was hired as the company SEO “expert,” back when all we thought we had to do was mass submit URLs to Hotbot! How we’ve changed.
Thanks for the article.
.-= Kat Lively´s last blog ..Approaching Twitter Users: Dancing the Fine Line Between Promotion and Spam =-.
I think that moving into a social media role after already having an established career in communications, or in my case, journalis will be very beneficial in the long run. It demonstrates your willingness to take risks, try new things and also your interest in becoming a leader in emerging areas. Demonstrated success in different areas/industries shows flexibility and the hope is that you don’t ride any one wave or characterize yourself in such a way that makes you seem like an expert in one area but someone who is knowledgeable in many, based on robust experience.
.-= Angela Connor´s last blog ..What social media guidelines say about your company =-.
I think that moving into a social media role after already having an established career in communications, or in my case, journalis will be very beneficial in the long run. It demonstrates your willingness to take risks, try new things and also your interest in becoming a leader in emerging areas. Demonstrated success in different areas/industries shows flexibility and the hope is that you don’t ride any one wave or characterize yourself in such a way that makes you seem like an expert in one area but someone who is knowledgeable in many, based on robust experience.
.-= Angela Connor´s last blog ..What social media guidelines say about your company =-.
Not sure I totally agree with this one.
Is social media massively over-hyped at present? Of course, and you and me and others here are guilty of helping it along. But, that doesn’t mean that the world will not need people that are good at it, indefinitely.
I understand the pigeon-hole issue, I really do. But, there are people that are auto mechanics that only work on Volkswagens. Are they pigeon-holed? Yes, but in a good way. Threadless only sells T-shirts. Are they pigeon-holed? Yes, in a good way. Some lawyers only do accident injury law. Are they pigeon-holed? Yes, in a lucrative, if somewhat slimy way (usually).
Professors usually focus on a very narrow area. There are very few “marketers” in agencies, but rather copywriting, art directors, project managers and the like. All pigeon-holed, but all necessary.
While pigeon-holing is limiting, being a generalist is undifferentiated, and often creates the type of USP problems Keith mentions above.
If I read your post correctly, you would counsel everyone who is an SEO, SEM, email marketing, online advertising, usability, or Web strategy expert (and of course social media) to instead become an “online marketer”. While I see the inherent flexibility in that approach, I also see it as limiting and fuzzy.
.-= Jay Baer´s last blog ..How to Match 10 Key Success Metrics to Your Blogging Strategy =-.
Jay, I get where you’re coming from, but I got something different from what Amber wrote.
Unless I got it way wrong, I think she was addressing the hordes of people who are trying to attach themselves with the Social Media moniker, almost as a branding thing.
It’s great now to link yourself to the terms, so people will indeed think of you and your talents. But in the future, what we now call “social media” will be more ubiquitous, wrapped into many of the things we do without thinking. Telephones used to have operators who manually connected people, now we don’t even think about the technology behind dial-tones. We just push buttons.
If you sell yourself as a “Social Media __________,” you limit your value later on. Besides, you should be selling people on the results you provide. The technology is an afterthought.
I’m particularly in tune with this because I’ve had people refer to me locally as “The Social Media Guy.” PRSA meetings, business settings, what have you. It’s nice to be recognized for something you can do, but in many respects it diminishes my accomplishments in crisis communications, media relations and corporate training. ALL of which I have equal or greater bona fides than what we call “Social Media.”
My two cents, anyway.
.-= Ike´s last blog ..The Biggest Loser =-.
Not sure I totally agree with this one.
Is social media massively over-hyped at present? Of course, and you and me and others here are guilty of helping it along. But, that doesn’t mean that the world will not need people that are good at it, indefinitely.
I understand the pigeon-hole issue, I really do. But, there are people that are auto mechanics that only work on Volkswagens. Are they pigeon-holed? Yes, but in a good way. Threadless only sells T-shirts. Are they pigeon-holed? Yes, in a good way. Some lawyers only do accident injury law. Are they pigeon-holed? Yes, in a lucrative, if somewhat slimy way (usually).
Professors usually focus on a very narrow area. There are very few “marketers” in agencies, but rather copywriting, art directors, project managers and the like. All pigeon-holed, but all necessary.
While pigeon-holing is limiting, being a generalist is undifferentiated, and often creates the type of USP problems Keith mentions above.
If I read your post correctly, you would counsel everyone who is an SEO, SEM, email marketing, online advertising, usability, or Web strategy expert (and of course social media) to instead become an “online marketer”. While I see the inherent flexibility in that approach, I also see it as limiting and fuzzy.
.-= Jay Baer´s last blog ..How to Match 10 Key Success Metrics to Your Blogging Strategy =-.
Jay, I get where you’re coming from, but I got something different from what Amber wrote.
Unless I got it way wrong, I think she was addressing the hordes of people who are trying to attach themselves with the Social Media moniker, almost as a branding thing.
It’s great now to link yourself to the terms, so people will indeed think of you and your talents. But in the future, what we now call “social media” will be more ubiquitous, wrapped into many of the things we do without thinking. Telephones used to have operators who manually connected people, now we don’t even think about the technology behind dial-tones. We just push buttons.
If you sell yourself as a “Social Media __________,” you limit your value later on. Besides, you should be selling people on the results you provide. The technology is an afterthought.
I’m particularly in tune with this because I’ve had people refer to me locally as “The Social Media Guy.” PRSA meetings, business settings, what have you. It’s nice to be recognized for something you can do, but in many respects it diminishes my accomplishments in crisis communications, media relations and corporate training. ALL of which I have equal or greater bona fides than what we call “Social Media.”
My two cents, anyway.
.-= Ike´s last blog ..The Biggest Loser =-.
I agree with Jay. I think his thoughts on this are supportive of mine posted above. Ike, there are hordes of people attaching themselves to many monikers. You may be a social media ___ with vast experience in journalism, or education or the medical field. That makes you all the more valuable to people in those industries. You understand what they are up against so you may have better advice on how they can integrate social media into other efforts. Perhaps what we need here is folks playing up their other experiences in addition to social media.
.-= Angela Connor´s last blog ..What social media guidelines say about your company =-.
I agree with Jay. I think his thoughts on this are supportive of mine posted above. Ike, there are hordes of people attaching themselves to many monikers. You may be a social media ___ with vast experience in journalism, or education or the medical field. That makes you all the more valuable to people in those industries. You understand what they are up against so you may have better advice on how they can integrate social media into other efforts. Perhaps what we need here is folks playing up their other experiences in addition to social media.
.-= Angela Connor´s last blog ..What social media guidelines say about your company =-.
It is an interesting perspective and if you think about it, justified as well. There is always evolution, and one should focus on the idea of communication and branding rather than simply social media. however, having social media knolwedge at this point is essential if you want to make it in any communication/marketing related career.
It is an interesting perspective and if you think about it, justified as well. There is always evolution, and one should focus on the idea of communication and branding rather than simply social media. however, having social media knolwedge at this point is essential if you want to make it in any communication/marketing related career.
Hi Amber,
I really appreciate your comments. I find it difficult when talking to people about social media to try and get them to not focus on the technology. Who knows what will be around. One thing for sure is that the way we communicate has changed, and that is what I try to instill in people. It’s about understanding AND caring about the customer and communicating to them in their terms and platforms. Its about really putting the customer first, not just saying you do, because the BS is detected easily.
Social media has really just quickened and enabled this.
It is true that putting your efforts less into understanding the gimicks of the latest social technology and more into understanding customers and communication will have more longevity.
Great post.
Hi Amber,
I really appreciate your comments. I find it difficult when talking to people about social media to try and get them to not focus on the technology. Who knows what will be around. One thing for sure is that the way we communicate has changed, and that is what I try to instill in people. It’s about understanding AND caring about the customer and communicating to them in their terms and platforms. Its about really putting the customer first, not just saying you do, because the BS is detected easily.
Social media has really just quickened and enabled this.
It is true that putting your efforts less into understanding the gimicks of the latest social technology and more into understanding customers and communication will have more longevity.
Great post.
I scanning something else regarding this on an additional blog. Interesting. Your own perspective on it is diametrically contradicted to what We read originally. I’m still contemplating over the various points of view, but I’m leaning an excellent extent toward yours. And no matter, that is is so good regarding modern-day democracy and the marketplace of ideas online.
I scanning something else regarding this on an additional blog. Interesting. Your own perspective on it is diametrically contradicted to what We read originally. I’m still contemplating over the various points of view, but I’m leaning an excellent extent toward yours. And no matter, that is is so good regarding modern-day democracy and the marketplace of ideas online.