Why No-one is a Social Media Expert
Photo by mikebaird.
The term ’social media expert’ has been the subject of a lot of talk and a lot of controversial articles lately. People have written about the different types of social media expert, whether it’s OK to call yourself a social media expert and outlined who they believe are (and are not) experts in social media.
The term has never been more commonly used. This is probably because an entire industry has bubbled up around people creating businesses and services springing from their claimed expertise in social media. There are a lot of good people in this industry and there is a lot of good work being done.
What I’d like to do in this post, though, is get people thinking about whether it is actually possible to be a ’social media expert’. As the title of this post suggest, I believe it isn’t. Here’s why.
Branding yourself as a social media expert is as nebulous as branding yourself an expert on ‘Animals’ or ‘History’ or ‘Asia’ or ‘Sport’. These areas are simply too big and too complicated to be truly mastered in any one lifetime. You can certainly be a student of these things and know more than most about them, but you cannot gain an extremely deep knowledge (which I believe is required to be an ‘expert’) on something so broad.
Social media is an umbrella topic covering hundreds of different platforms, mediums and means for producing and sharing user-generated content. Within that, individual communities can have thousands (or millions) of members, distinct cultures, unspoken rules and unofficial leaders. Digg is extremely different to Twitter. Twitter is extremely different to StumbleUpon. StumbleUpon is extremely different to FriendFeed. Tumblr is different to your Wordpress blog.
Expertise in using one type of social media does not automatically transfer into all other types. I see many people branding themselves as social media experts who are active on Twitter mainly, perhaps Friendfeed, but have never actively used Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, et al. If expertise implies full and comprehensive knowledge then this scenario is actually incompatible with social media ‘expertise’. Does this mean these people are being deceptive? Certainly not - I have no doubt they genuinely believe they are experts and may have different criteria than I do.
My point is not that you should sign-up to every social media service in existence, use them all for thousands of hours, and only then can you call yourself a social media expert. I don’t think it’s possible to do this, or a wise use of time. Instead, my argument is that it is possible to have expertise within social media. Spend thousands of hours studying, using and challenging yourself with Twitter and you will have well and truly earned the right to call yourself a Twitter expert. If you want to get really truthful, though, why not get more specific?
- I’m an expert in using Twitter to grow and strengthen customer loyalty.
- I’m an expert in teaching companies how to use Twitter to build relationships with customers.
- I’m an expert in collecting large amounts of Twitter followers in a short period of time.
This type of branding is both more accurate and more powerful than claiming general expertise. It’s more accurate because you may not truly be a Twitter expert if you have only ever used Twitter in one way (for example, to generate sales leads for your business). In matters of using Twitter to build your own personal brand or network with people in your industry, you might know only a little. When it comes to generating sales leads for your business, though, your expertise can’t be denied.
This is the take-away point right here, and I think this will help your personal branding: getting specific about your expertise is actually a better branding strategy than a sweeping statement.
Most people are looking for an expert to solve a very specific problem. Some examples from within social media:
- They want to learn how to create content that compels Digg users to vote, which will in turn bring them more pageviews and ad revenue.
- They want to use Twitter to build a bigger profile in their field.
- They want to create a blog that turns readers into customers.
Who are they going to hire, all things being equal?
- The expert in creating and marketing Diggable content for pageviews, or the ’social media expert’?
- The expert in creating super-accounts on Twitter, or the ’social media expert’?
- The expert in business blogging for conversions, or the ’social media expert’?
I know who I’d hire!
The broader your expert branding, the less clear it is what exactly you do and what problems you can solve. You are also competing with hundreds, perhaps thousands of other people who have branded themselves in the same way.
By presenting yourself as a specialist you are cutting down the amount of people you have to compete with while also providing a specific answer to a specific problem. Most importantly, you’re acknowledging that you are not an expert in your entire field and that the thing you are passionate about - whether it’s social media or technology or politics - is too complex and multi-layered to be mastered by any one person.
In my humble opinion, it’s an enlightened and authentic approach that will benefit your business.
The biggest problem is that there is no real social media, as it does not tend to be social. Besides that it’s kind of obvious that it’s pretty broad, but I think a social media expert tends to have a certain image that he “knows” what he is doing on those networks to promote a brand, let me rephrase… it’s a job where companies pay someone to find trends and use them to an advantage, it does not matter to much in which network though. It’s like all those fancy designers creating stuff that these CEO would never wear.
Very interesting analysis.
I do not consider myself an expert in any of the social media platforms.
I would hypothesize that some that give themselves the title, “social media expert” are more concerned with impressing potential customers than striving for accuracy.
In the end, isn’t it how others perceive these so called experts that is most important to them?
That being said, I like your point about people seeking something very specific. I too would seek out the person who specifies what exactly they are expert at. Sounds more convincing and professional.
Agreed 100% - and you don’t need a social media expert, you need a good marketer ( http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/03/16/social-media-expert/ )
But I’m a Social Media Expert! Ok, I consult companies about social media and blogging.
I agree with this posting to a certain extent. I think most people need a qualified social media strategist, someone who can plan and execute an overall strategy (not a marketing campaign). Sine this industry is so new, I don’t think anyone really can claim to be a true expert (especially since it’s likely for this industry to flip to something completely different in a year from now). For example Digg is low on the totem pole for me for a couple of reasons: 1.) It’s demographics are heavily skewed towards 20-30 males 2.) Even really awesome traffic from Digg does not equal sales. You benefit from the SEO, but don’t expect to see anyone buying from you, even if you hit the front page. Unless you sell to 20-30 males, I do not see it as a community building strategy. Instead I focus on building relationships with other bloggers with similar interests and identifying possible brand advocates that we can reward in some way.
I wrote a posting on this on my blog about all these social media expert “warnings” :
http://www.smoexpert.com/youre-not-an-social-media-expert-im-the-only-real-social-media-expert
Great point, man. Twitter is crammed full of “social media experts”. It seems odd to me that people need to be trained on how to be social. But they do…
I absolutely agree with your assessment of that self proclaimed title. I think it is responsible for these “experts” to indicate what exactly it is they are an “expert” in. The problem with that though, is that then they actually have to deliver on their claim and not many have been able to do so empirically.
As always, I’m very appreciative of your insight.
But I am an expert on Asia! =P
@smashill - I’m curious as to what you mean when you say that social media doesn’t tend to be social? In my experience these are huge social networks that can be used in many different ways, the large communities in my opinion definitely give them a ’social’ and personal edge, even when using them as a business tool.
Great article as usual Skellie. =)
This is true, but what about specializing in social media just for specific industries?
For example, as an educator I recently came across the website http://www.socialmediaschools.com, which is a website about social media use in the schools. They cover a bunch of different things in the social media world, but the concentrate on social media use just for schools. So while they are not specializing on one specific type of social media (i.e. Digg, FriendFeed, etc) they are specializing by just talking about what social media elements are relevant to schools and people in the education arena. I think that is smart… and useful for someone like me who is looking for very specific information on a topic that is unique to my industry’s situation.
[...] The author of Why No One is a Social Media Expert claims that “Branding yourself as a social media expert is as nebulous as branding yourself [...]
I forget to turn on my instant messenger, I only reply to people on facebook (I get email notifications, otherwise i wouldn’t even know), and I don’t have a twitter account which is ’such’ a NO NO these days for designers…
So if there would be such a thing as a social media expert, that would make me…… an inexpert?
[...] correctly observes that the concept of “social media expert” is silly in the first place. Most people are looking for an expert to solve a very specific problem. Some examples from within [...]
I agree - “Specialist” is so much more honest.
- Eric
A lot of my friends - especially, midlife women who rarely use a computer - think I’m a “computer genius” because a) I help them get theater tickets online and b) have a blog. And I’ll sometimes get a plaintive “But you know everything about computers!” when I mention that I’m having trouble with something new.
But we all have gaps in our knowledge. A friend who does websites didn’t know how to comment on blogs until I told her how. My husband repairs the hardware (my own IT department) but he doesn’t understand a thing about Twitter.
Love the ’specialism’ take here - something you referenced in your post is what I highlighted and drawn out on the very subject in my blog post about being a social media expert at the beginning of this year:
http://mediasnackers.com/2009/01/social-media-experts/ :-)
Although we have a cross sector and broad approach this is because we are dealing predominantly with clients who are still new to the whole gamut of social media (although we are careful not to call ourselves experts - more polymaths (and I call myself a ’social media tart’))
Thanks for taking the time to write this out and narrow it down to “specialist”.
May I also suggest “Social Media Instruction”. Not as flashy, but it there’s no confusion either.
Thanks for taking the time to write this out and narrow it down to “specialist”.
May I also suggest “Social Media Instruction”. Not as flashy, but at least there’s no confusion either.
Didn’t someone have a blast at Guy Kawasaki recently about his Twitter tactics? I’m hung on this to be honest - it’s cheap and easy to set yourself up as a social media expert, but actually be a parasite on a popular platform like Twtter or Facebook.
On the other hand, are these people popularising the services they use or are they filling them up with like-minded marketers, all chattering away to one another and not engaging properly?
Mike — Specialist I think we can agree on - good word.
I look at experience along the lines of a social media engagement continuum… Wrote a post about it here: //livepath.blogspot.com/2009/04/social-media-engagement-continuum-what.html (it has a visual)
Then there are these posts:
Lisa Hoffmann’s take
http://newmedialisa.com/index.php/if-social-media-experts-arent-experts-only-the-charlatans-will-be-experts/
Mack Collier’s Take
http://moblogsmoproblems.blogspot.com/2009/03/will-real-social-media-expert-please.html
Beth Harte’s Take (Awesome comments/feedback here)
http://www.theharteofmarketing.com/2009/04/here-an-expert-there-an-expert%E2%80%A6everywhere-an-expert.html
We were all on social mediasphere TV (http://socialmediasphere.tv) last night about it. But with regard to the “EXPERT” definition… is anyone ELSE getting realllly tired of the topic? Agh!
Or do we revitalize the topic when we are forced to read the BLATHER of the “ignorati” such as this post (Why Twitter is wrong for Entrepreneurs… as an Entrepreneur myself it REALLY ticked me off).
http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/columnist/strauss/2009-04-06-twitter-entrepreneurs_N.htm
Skellie,
Excellent point: no one is a social media expert.
I’ve been saying that for awhile. The whole notion is kind of absurd.
Question, though:
You say,
“By presenting yourself as a specialist you are cutting down the amount of people you have to compete with while also providing a specific answer to a specific problem.”
Makes sense. But how do you square that with the advice in your Escaping Niches post, where you encourage us to write much more broadly focused blogs, like the 4HWW?
Do you think it’s possible to write a blog that deals with several different topics, but still presents us as a specialist in something particular?
I think social media ain’t that social due to it’s nature. Sure there are a lot people who get a lot out of it, but there are even more who chase followers, add friends like mad, but after all don’t have much of a social life left. Besides that the tone in social media worlds is pretty much like driving a car and getting honked at, people have their small world and are irritated very easy and say things they’d never say in real life. Sure you have interaction, social action and so on.
Still I am always very wary with the word social media, and rather think of it as a form of communication/community. Social has, at least for me, more components to it than simple communication between people. Might be my twisted definition alone though ;)
Great points. Social media has certainly grown into a huge field with many very different sites, styles and camps. From the outside, it can look like a “new” aspect of the Web, but anyone involved will quickly realize that it is as varied as marketing and sales and customer service and socializing and a thousand other aspects of life, all wrapped under one title. And no one can be a “guru” of them all.
The philosophy I’ve read/observed/learned/adopted:
Like SEO, if you take care of the content, the social media (and SEO) will take care of itself.
Maybe people should stop branding themselves ” Social Media Experts”, because no one can be an expert on all social media websites which has a different natures, I think they should call themselves a Twitter expert or Social Twitter Expert!
[...] Here is one of my favourite posts that shows her style…Why no-one is a social media expert. [...]
I think it’s premature to call one an expert since we’re still in such an early stage of social media. What are these people basing their title of “expert” on? Isn’t an expert someone who specializes and has in-depth knowledge in one certain area? If so, then the above posts are true as social media includes a number of “tools” or “platforms.” It’s like an engineer - you have mechanical, you have electrical, etc - but you don’t have an Engineer Expert.
Too tightly ‘we’ attach meaning to ‘media’, whether ‘old’, ‘new’ or ’social’.
My take - this is all too technologically deterministic. What ‘we’ are really interested in are the ways people seek to establish networks, mediate communications and increasingly (have to) put in place an established pattern of sociability. Why? because it is considered as ‘bad’ social etiquette not to reply to an email, a Facebook message, a tweet. As for the ‘how’ - this is being continually worked out and negotiated, but always with a sense of the impact and effect on others.
‘Others’ is the key word here. As a sociologist, the dimensions of sociability are complex and tightly drawn together with ritual, customs and the performance of actions. With the aid of ’social media’ (whether old or new or whatever) such acts are increasingly visible and open. Which makes them easier to track and surveil in the lives of others. This is the real social crux and area of expertise, the technology is as a tool to enable us to connect to others.
A bit like me commenting on this blog…
Then there’s also my blog http://properfacebooketiquette.blogspot.com/
[...] }); See Monica’s post: “What it means to be an Expert, an Authority” [↩]see Why No-One is A Social Media Expert [...]
[...] focus on one and not the other, we’ll amount to nothing more than: a) content slave, or b) wannabe social media expert (both options really suck, by the [...]
[...] Ok, so I read the post referred to by a few around Twitter yesterday, and it’s a good post: http://www.skelliewag.org/why-no-one-is-a-social-media-expert-895.htm [...]
Thank you for coming out and saying what I’ve been thinking for months, Skellie. No one can possibly be an expert in all types of social media, and it is destructive to the social media industry for people to be claiming to be such. I know, for one, that Facebook changes there whole darned site every two months (or so it seems), so I find it hard to believe that anyone could call themselves a Facebook expert- it goes obsolete too fast! Twitter is too new, and is still changing its dynamic constantly (the Iranian elections, anyone?) And digg is still an outlier, imho, in terms of being a mode of effective advertising (although it is great for news articles) so why would you want to claim expertise there?
Great article, again, thank you!
[...] Advertising, Technology and Computing I was surfing the blogosphere yesterday, and stumbled across this article, which talks about why it is impossible to claim that anybody is a “social media [...]
A great article, and some great comments but…
…isn’t an expert someone who knows more than you do?
We spend all of our time scouring the web for interesting and innovative articles about this kind of thing, and therefore we all have a reasonable grasp of how each piece of the puzzle fits together. Clients, on the other hand, do not. They tend to be too busy making widgets or crunching numbers.
Yes, we are all experts, but only the most arrogant person would refer to himself as such (like brilliant, virtuoso, genius, etc) much more powerful to let others give you the tag and smile smugly!
On the comment of “you don’t need a social media expert, you need a good marketer” - rubbish - social media (and other permission marketing) IS marketing these days. Advertising, brochures, direct mail, newsletters, and every other traditional channel… they’re all dead - ask Seth Godin!
I would rename this post to, ‘no one is an expert’ or ‘jack of all trades and master of none’.
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I run a social media agency, our PR works through a number of us being thought leaders in the social media space, some might call us social media experts. I prefer to call us the consultants, but for SEO reasons, people tend to Google ’social networking experts’. We then have a team of people who will engage at various levels of the campaign for our clients..
I concur with most of your comments!