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The Traps and Benefits of Social Media – Part 1

Something that I’m hearing a lot of discussion about lately is the necessity for businesses to be engaged with Social Media. If you’re not familiar with social media, it’s a trend in online communication and technology meant to foster interactive communication among users. Facebook and Twitter are probably the best known exampls, but it extends to other well known sites like YouTube, MySpace, Blogger, and more.

For the sake of brevity I want to focus this article specifically on Facebook and Twitter. I get a lot of questions from clients and other professionals who feel pressure to have some sort of presence on these websites but struggle to understand why or how that should develop. Often, they’ve just come from some professional workshop or conference where there was keynote speaker who was an ‘expert’ in social media and made them feel insecure about their current condition online.

More and more, I’m coming across social media consultants who I had worked with in some proximity on previous projects for which they were representing an entirely different field of expertise. I’ve worked on projects as a web designer along with a freelance copywriter who has since rebranded themselves as a “social media expert”. In that case, I was specifically aware that the credentials did no uphold the brand. It seems like some people who have held positions in an industry that sits in proximity to the orbit of social media think that there is a simple transition over in expertise in social media. Go to a workshop on Facebook and suddenly you’re an “expert”.  Unfortunately, there isn’t a shortage of charlatans out there who are willing to tweet for you and upload pictures of your staff Christmas party at exaggerated rates. That’s my first bit of advice for anyone who’s asking. Be wary of self proclaimed social media experts. That’s not to say there aren’t any out there... but as with all new things, there’s a bandwagon and it’s easy to be confused by it. If you’re going to scrutinize someone you’re considering hiring as a social media consultant, the first thing I would look for are relevant credentials. Unfortunately, there aren’t diplomas in social media (and if there are then they are probably dubious) so you can’t look there. The type of person who will be most knowledgeable in this area is someone with extensive online marketing experience. Consultants with a background in SEO and web marketing will be most in tune with this new online approach.