Its amazing, there are literally thousands of self proclaimed experts, but actually finding one in the wild is about as exciting as spotting a unicorn.  While unicorns are fairly easy to identify when you see one, this isn’t really the case with experts. In a world of so-called experts, how do you define an expert? How do you know if the person your thinking of working with is a hack or really able to be an expert for you?

Its not an easy question to answer, but I thought it would be worthy to discuss what makes an expert so special and how they differ from other professionals in their field. While I typically discuss social media, and these expert requirements certainly apply to finding a social media expert, they aren’t limited to social media experts. If you’re looking to talk to an expert, think about these things before moving forward.

An expert never stops learning:

To be an expert is to be an outstanding student, a natural curiosity. They actively spend time reading and thinking. That means that an expert invests time to improve his/her own skill set to benefit his/her projects, programs and clients. Its worth asking an expert how they keep up with changes, how much time they spend learning. But its even more than that, an expert shares. Why is this important? Because when a person learns information, the single best way to incorporate that knowledge is to share it. That’s why so many people who are considered experts are also speakers and bloggers, writers.  They know the secret to continued thought leadership is to share. They also know that by sharing, they engender conversations, comments and ideas which help them flesh out their ideas and opinions, which takes us back to the fact that most experts are outstanding students.

An expert has had learning experiences and even (gasp!) failures.

If you aren’t taking chances, then you’ve never had a failure. Experts take a risk now and then and they learn from the experience. Finding an expert means finding someone who will discuss what they’ve learned and what they would do differently next time. While experts may not use the language of “failure”, they certainly use the language of “learning lessons”. Show me someone who has never failed and I’ll show you either a noob or a boob.  No expert is perfect and if they can’t find learning lessons in past programs or clients, then they really aren’t asking the right questions.

Experts will ask probing questions.

Asking questions is the very basis to success. Some of those questions will require the client to dig deep to find the most honest answer. Asking questions about your business, your clients, your goals, these are all the kinds of questions that an expert should ask. But if your expert isn’t asking you deep questions, then you’re probably not dealing with an expert. Its the job of the expert to ask these questions so he/she knows how they can help you.  If you aren’t comfortable sharing the answers with your expert, ask them to sign an NDA, an expert won’t mind. An expert will want to get to the deepest part of the challenge and will want to do so quickly.

Experts value your time. And theirs.

An expert isn’t likely to ask you to go to coffee just to chat, and you shouldn’t ask an expert to do that either. Experts are busy people because the business of learning and sharing never stops. While that doesn’t mean an expert doesn’t have a life outside of work, its unlikely that an expert will spend his working hours lounging around at a Starbucks. An expert has typically spent hours honing their craft and you can’t learn everything they know simply by having a cup of coffee with them anyway. An expert won’t waste your time talking about him/herself on an intro meeting instead an expert will spend the time getting to know you, your business challenges and goals.  But more than that, an expert will be able to ask you the right questions and propose a solution efficiently. They also won’t be the cheapest person you speak with and that’s because they invest in you, your project and outcomes. You can hire less expensive people, but you can also go to a horse ranch if you want to see a horse. The unicorn is a rare breed and so is the expert. Working with them will save you frustration and time.

Photo: Creative Commons

Psst: while we’re at it, here’s an article I wrote earlier this year about outsourcing that still holds true: What you should and shouldn’t outsource.

Social media professionals are a fascinating bunch. Sit with them and you’ll realize that there are at least 4-5 different disciplines represented. In my immediate circle, there are those with PR, Marketing, Tech and Software backgrounds, Web and SEO, wait, I’m not done..Journalism, Digital design, and I even know someone with a scientific background. Phew! That’s an awful lot of talent wrapped up into one type of marketing. Why are there so many distinct backgrounds in social media? Because social media is new (Twitter is only 5 years old!), meaning professionals have migrated from different backgrounds. But it isn’t just that – social media combination of skills (marketing, PR, web, technical) and philosophies which merge together to create the social media field.

That’s why no one “owns” social media

The awesome thing for me about having this diverse group of people around me is that they each bring a different insight to a challenge or a campaign. The tech guy is going to help me understand whether my dream of actually having

Creative Commons by PSD

someone live inside the computer can come true, while my web guy is up to date on all things SEO and programming, my science friend is going to remind me that before I do much else a process should be in place. My PR friends will strive to find ways to connect or create community and journalism friends are going to remind me about the need for great content and the digital design camp is going to say it won’t mean anything if it isn’t attractive to the eye. As for me, as a marketing professional, I bring the creative juice and the desire to track and measure the results. Several of us bring a multidisciplinary approach including agency or entrepreneurial elements, both of which are valuable insights.   If you could wrap us all up together you’d have the ideal social media professional. But “that person” doesn’t exist…even in the most brilliant of us. But there IS brilliance in each of us.

Its takes a village

Raising a successful social media campaign takes more than one person. And, it takes more than the social media professional, it takes commitment from the client as well. As soon as you start discussing social media within any organization, you realize that it will have significant touch points into other areas of your business besides marketing: it will involve Customer Service, PR, Marketing, your “Web Guy”. So it is with social media, its unlikely that any single person can do an entire campaign soup-to-nuts alone. And there’s no shame in asking for help, support and or assistance. As social media professionals we can support one another in a way that makes everything we do better. Collaboration is a sign of strength, not weakness and we can make each other and our clients even more successful. In fact, social media in itself IS collaboration.

So when you find your chief:

Despite that wide range of professional backgrounds, social media professionals tend to be very collaborative. We reach out to one another for advice and assistance. We pay one another for formal or informal brainstorming sessions. We watch, we listen, we read from one another. When you hire a social media professional, ask them: “what areas of social media do you collaborate with others on?” that will help you understand their strengths. You should be more concerned when the person you talk to says they do it all themselves. For a true social media campaign or launch, several skill sets WILL be required.  I have yet to meet a single person who can do it ALL on their own, in fact, the more I see collaboration, the more successful I see campaigns.

What do you think? If your a social media pro, do you collaborate much? If you are on the client side, how receptive are you to having your social media pro bring in others to support your campaign?

What’s needed for a successful social media campaign? That’s sort of like asking what it takes to create a success business. The truth is a successful social media endeavor requires hard work, time, commitment and a dash of good luck. But if your business is considering getting serious about social media with a social media professional, there are some things that you should know. The first of which is that no matter how fantastic your social media professional is, you’ll still be pivotal to the success of the campaign.  Here are 5 ways you can support the success of your social media campaign and your investment with a social media professional.

1) From the outset, determine if you have the man power for social media: social media is dynamic and fast paced. Communicating with your clients in this forum will require a willingness to be there when your clients are there too. If you decide to outsource your social media communication, you’ll still need manpower and here’s why: there will be times when a potential sale or compliment or complaint comes in through a social media outlet and having a process flow that is fast and internal is absolutely necessary. You’ll probably quickly get to the point where content creation becomes a topic. Who will create the content? Even if you outsource your content to a PR or video firm, you’ll still need to be involved with the topics and subjects.  The people in YOUR company understand the needs and views of your customers better than anyone else, why wouldn’t you want them to be involved.

Creative Commons Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/

2) Open up: The more you empower your social media campaign, the more successful it will be. Open up to new ideas. If each new idea or suggestion is met with a “we can’t do that”, then not only are you tying the hands of your social media professional, you’re limiting your own success.  Make sure your executive team is on board and enthusiastic. Find an internal champion who wants to see a social campaign succeed.  Be ready to share some of the nitty gritty of your company’s inner workings with a social media professional and allow them to help you through the process. Whenever I hear “we tried hiring a social media consultant, but it just didn’t work” I often ask “why?” Because while social media consultants are not all equally successful, some clients aren’t either. Some come to the table ready and willing to create magic, some come with a skepticism that limits the possibility of success from the outset.

3) Tracking Sales: If you are looking to track your sales directly from social media, be ready to invest in some additional tools. Google Analytics is a good start, but it won’t be enough. If you utilize non-digital forms of marketing, then let your social media pro in on the details. Let them understand your marketing cycle so they can support your over all goal, not just the goal of social media.  There are tracking tools which will help you identify multiple digital touch points such as email and web and social. But if you really want to dig deep, you’ll want to integrate your CRM with social media. If you don’t have a CRM, then tracking that insight will be considerably harder and more time consuming, you’ll have to rely on causation rather than direct attribution. No social media professional can make you invest in these tools, but if you wish to skip them, then it isn’t the fault of your social media professional.

4) Be ready to integrate: You’ll quickly find that elements of social media include touch points including marketing, sales, PR, customer relations and more. Social media shouldn’t be treated as a silo, I always say, social media is the farm, not the silo. I say that because its the fertile ground where the sun, the rain, the tender care all take place to create magnificent fruit. But without all the elements together, the fruit isn’t as magnificent.  Make sure you’re willing and able to have those touch points involved in the discussion. An audit will quickly reveal the areas in which you can have an impact, but at the very least, its likely to include some changes to your website, integration with your email list,  some communication with your executive team and support from everyone involved.

5) “What Have You Done for Me Lately”: Social media isn’t really a sales tool, its a marketing tool. Social media helps you create a stronger emotional connection with your customers, but few customers place orders through social media (subject to change?) The effects of social media are likely to be exponential, but perhaps not immediate and potentially difficult to track (depending on your choices of tracking). Give your customers some time to start communicating with you on social media..and give them a reason to communicate with you. You’ll find that things come into play together, over time.

6) Be Flexible, Be Human: What worked for your competitor may or may not work for you. You might find that something that has worked in the past isn’t working now. Be prepared to try something new, in fact, always be thinking of what’s next. Social media is dynamic and so are social media users. They expect you to be interesting, inventive and informative. If you aren’t one of the three “I’s” on social media, then its time to think about how you can be. And don’t forget, at its heart, social media is about communication. Be human, let your customers be human. They’ll think more highly of you and that will pay dividends for years to come!

Last week, I moderated a panel at the Hawaii Social Media Summit (#SMSHI) of Hawaii’s social media business users about their outsourcing – what they do and don’t outsource and what their best practices are.  It was an interesting conversation and their experiences are largely reflective of a Facebook Poll I recently initiated. The conversation is an interesting one with varying and strong opinions! While the poll I took is certainly no where near scientific, I think it raises some interesting points. As you might imagine – I have some opinions on these as they relate to small and medium businesses, so I thought I would share with you the results, a sampling of the conversation and my thoughts on each of the items.

There were a total of 52 votes, I did not limit the number of votes that each person could make. To get the party started, I voted for Strategy and Analytics. Here’s how the rest of the votes broke down and my thoughts about them.

22/52 Technical Integration: I totally agree with most of the respondents, having your social media program integrated with the rest of your digital presence is vitally important and its both smart and easy to outsource since there is usually no need for a permanent employee for this purpose. A business might choose to put a consultant on retainer, but unless you are really aggressively changing your digital presence regularly, then a consultant is the ideal choice.

13/52 Analytics: Since I already said I voted for this, you won’t be surprised to hear that I am baffled by the fact that this only received 13 votes.  Here’s why I am baffled,  over and over again, I get questions on what metrics should be used. Our panelists last week acknowledged that they too are struggling to identify which metrics work for them. The answer to what you should measure depends on what your goals are, but many social media consultants can help you identify which metrics are best for you and how to measure them. Unless you are a large business who can afford a Radian6 or similar tool, the gathering of this data can be cross channel and time consuming. I find most small business skip this crucial step and then become frustrated when they don’t know more about the success (or failure) of their social media program. A critical examination of metrics by a social media consultant can give you valuavle take-aways on changes you might make in your social media program, what’s working and what isn’t. If nothing else, you can outsource the initial set-up and development of your analytical program and take it from there. Whatever you do though, do skip the measurement of social media. But if you do skip it, please don’t say that social media doesn’t work for you…because my next question will be how do you know? I’d encourage small and medium businesses to at least consider creating a metrics dashboard with a consultant. Your internal social media person will thank you – even if they are running the reports on an ongoing basis. You don’t need to hire someone full time for this and since most companies don’t have a full-time social media person, this is an ideal outsourcing component.

11/52 Strategy: Again, one of my votes. Again, I am as confused as an epileptic dog in a maze. Maybe its because strategy isn’t fully appreciated. Maybe its because strategy seems too “fuzzy” but for me and my clients, strategy is the starting point. Without a well defined strategy, how do you know what you will implement and how you will measure? Social media is deceptively sophisticated and incredibly dynamic. Yes, you may change your strategy, but at least have one.The reason this is a great element to outsource is a social media consultant can give you examples of other strategies and work with you to develop one that suits your needs. Everyone’s strategy will be different, but its great to have some ideas to start with. You will then have a road map and metrics from which to measure the success of your social media program.

3/52 Implementation: The irony of this category is that its the single most popular thing that small businesses want to outsource – yet, its not the ideal element to outsource. Its also the most time consuming, which is why so many companies want to outsource. Listening. Engaging. Conversing. They all take time. I’ve seen estimates from 5 hour/week or more.  Having someone else speak for your brand (even if they are smart, savvy and exhibit good judgment) is challenging unless you (business) are really able to spend the time to immerse the outsourced social media person in your brand. Further, you should be willing to develop a process and a flow to assist the consultant in making comments and decisions on the spot, as that is what social media requires. Immersing a consultant in the right culture and voice of your brand is not easy. Can it be done? Yes. But my own personal experience in this area makes me give the following recommendation: if you must outsource this section, consider it a 3-6 month pilot until your internal users are up to speed on best practices and tools. What I normally do is have myself and a staffer work the social media dashboard together so we can discuss the opportunities and choices. Then I closely monitor and make recommendations. I personally love this graphic that breaks it down nicely:

1/52 SEO: I’m baffled by how few people saw SEO as a viable outsourcing choice. While I don’t personally do SEO, I work with several SEO pros in conjunction with social media programs and I have to say, I think this is one of the few areas where there isn’t much grey area. While SEO maintainance may be ongoing, an SEO expert’s job is to stay up to date on the every changing search antilogarithms, put your SEO consultant on a monthly retainer and call it a day. Few companies should have internal SEO and there are some incredibly talented SEO consultants available.

1/52 Content Development: I believe this one area that doesn’t get its social media respect. Developing content is an ongoing process and whether you choose to develop content or curate it, you’ll need to have a plan that fits in with your strategy.  Many small businesses need suggestions on what types of content (words, pictures, video etc.) and also the best way to utilize them to create discussion. Further, development of voice and tone is often something that many small and medium businesses haven’t done yet, so a social media consultant can help you develop your voice. What content to create, how to use it and best practices with content are all elements a consultant can help you with. When it comes to implementing it, I again suggest an internal advocate (or two).

1/52: Building Quality Followers: While only one person voted for this, I tend to agree, that this element can be outsourced, initially. I’ll even lump this in with working with influencers, both the identification and the outreach of them. But, ongoing development of followers will be contingent on your implementation among other factors, and unless your consultant has control over the implementation of these factors, its not a great choice.

So – what do you think? What do you think is most successfully outsourced? Leave us your thoughts..and if you haven’t already, take the Facebook Poll

PS:

Here are some sources about outsourcing I shared on my #SMSHI Twitter Stream last week:

Should #smallbiz consider outsourcing social media @AlohaSMM weighs in with some great stats: http://ow.ly/4zOzN

Another viewpoint: things you CAN outsource in social media http://ow.ly/4yWcs via @baekdal #SMSHI

Should you outsource your social media efforts? (via @mashable) #smshi http://ow.ly/4yV4Q

5 reasons not to outsource your social media http://ow.ly/4yVYf via @iMediaTweet #SMSHI

Corporate social media outsourcing has doubled according to @smexaminer ‘s mkting report – from 14% in 2010 to 20% in 2011 #SMSHI

Great advice from @TobyDiva regarding for biz & agencies re: outsourcing social media #smshi #smallbiz http://ow.ly/4yVbR

Design/Development, Content Creation & Analytics top 3 most commonly outsourced #sm elements via @smexaminer ‘s mkting report #SMSHI

Let’s say you can hammer a nail straight into a 2×4 with one hit. Does that make you a contractor?

Let’s say you can fly a kite, does that make you an areospace engineer?

Let’s pretend for a minute that you have never been in a car accident, you’re a good driver,  does that qualify you for the Indy500?

Probably not, yet this is what is happening within social media.

Social media is a deceptively sophisticated marketing medium, one that even those who do it all day are just now beginning to harness. Its hardly all smoke and mirrors, but much like building a house is more than hammer & nails, a social media strategy requires many different types of skills. Further, as the social media landscape continues to evolve, it takes considerable dedication to stay up to date on the changes in applications, tools and abilities within social media, much like the ability to fly a kite does not make you an areospace engineer. And, even with the best strategies in place, what makes social media so exciting, is that ultimately, your dealing with PEOPLE not machines. People who have their own goals, lives and priorities. People who have feelings, family and dreams.  People are the “X” element in the equation. For every brilliant campaign, there are 200 that are “meh”, even from the big guys and that’s because it isn’t easy. EVERYONE has a Facebook page, because that’s the easy part. Developing a campaign, building community takes more than tweeting. Engaging a community takes more than a Facebook page with snazzy apps. Understanding who your customers are, what really makes them tick and how you can tap into that energy is a process that has nothing to do with 140 characters. That’s not to say there isn’t a subtlety to a well-crafted tweet, because, indeed there is, but without the strategy, the tweet is meaningless. Dealing with people takes shrewd judgment, social intelligence and flexibility, much like that Indy 500 driver is different from the average “good” driver.

But just because you use social media, does that make you an expert?

Many people deride the term “social media expert” and there are many good reasons for that. One argument is that social media is such a new marketing and PR avenue, few people have been doing it for much more the 3-4 years. Even full-time professionals will say that there is a constant risk taking and experimenting in social media. In fact, if you find someone who tells you there is a one-sized solution for your social media objective, that’s not a good sign.  Yet, there are social media professionals whose full-time job includes creating communities, campaigns and analyzing the data you receive from social media efforts. These full-time professionals take seriously the medium of social media and the objectives that can be reached through social media.

While it doesn’t take an MBA to send a tweet (over 18 million Twitter users can attest to that), you might consider making that person more qualified than 6 months out of college. Critical thinking, savvy communication skills and judgment are paramount to the overall stew of a successful social media professional.  Creating a social media strategy and executing with marketing savvy is a more sophisticated process than most people give credit for. There are subtleties within social media communication that are simply lost on those who don’t have previous digital or marketing experience. A good social media professional can help you define your goals, develop a strategy and even train your staff (over a period of time) about how to execute a brand presence within social media.

But why do we constantly see those with very little marketing experience in social media roles?  I think there are several reasons for that. The first is that social media can appear deceptively simple. Its easy to believe that because you have a Twitter account your an expert, but its not that easy to actually BE the expert. Also, I suspect its because social media budgets are just now emerging and few people understand that being a social media professional requires more than a proficiency with tools. I think its also because those hiring don’t yet know how to quantify the skills needed for social media; identifying critical thinking skills is much more difficult than identifying the ability to use a tool. Hiring a fresh-faced kid with a Facebook profile is easier and less expensive than hiring someone with 20+ years of marketing experience. The same goes for hiring a consultant, it can be overwhelming.

So? What’s the Solution?

Distinguishing committed social media pros with established marketing backgrounds shouldn’t be so difficult, but it is. It will continue to be a challenge as the medium matures. But in the meantime, if you are considering hiring a staff person or a consultant, I encourage you to consider your local Social Media Club as a resource (full disclosure: I am a volunteer board member of the Hawaii Chapter). There are several reasons for this. First is that the professional members of your local Social Media Club have made a commitment to professional development. Also, Social Media Club members are typically well connected and they will be the first to point you in the right direction for what your looking for without any flack. Most social media professionals draw on their previous backgrounds, they know what they are good at and consider their co-members as resources for other areas. Most importantly, they are committed to developing the industry and putting their years of experience to work in social media. In other words, when you hire a Social Media Club professional member, you’re probably hiring a team of resources. Committed and experienced social media professionals may not be the cheapest, but they are worth their weight in gold when you consider the wealth of knowledge they bring with them.

Instead of looking at the costs of a social media expert, consider the costs of an errant tweet which causes a PR nightmare, or  the cost of hours of staff time with little information to show or report about your customers and clients.  Consider your digital brand reputation and consider utilizing your social media professionals as resources.

Resources:

http://socialmediaclub.org/

http://socialmediaclub.org/

Regardless of where you find your social media professional, I wish you all the luck in finding the right one for your objectives.

If you found a great social media professional, please tell us how you found them and why you thought they were great!

Through out my career I have been fascinated with marketing techniques that allowed the customer and the brand to engage on a a deeper level: a way for them to speak to one another, more importantly: Listen. This is why I have been so passionate about sponsorship and events.

Today, however, doing events and sponsorship without communicating it to your most avid customers is really missing an opportunity. That’s what got me interested in using my blog and twitter and facebook as promotion tools. That’s what social media does for you: blogging, twitter, facebook, maybe even flicker and youtube. These are all tools in your marketing arsenal. And best of all: they are free!

But, predictably, “free” comes at a cost. In the case of social media, that cost is TIME.  Blogging and twittering and facebooking. Who has the time for it? Yet, the only way to really realize a benefit is to be consistent and develop relationships.

Outsourcing this can be a tricky proposition. Some big companies have outsourced their social media programs to interns and had to hire far more expensive PR firms to squash the problems the uninitiated intern caused with inappropriate messaging. Blogging requires a marketing mind as well as a business mind. Plus, you want content to be engaging and interesting.

It doesn’t have to be that way though, you CAN hire professional writing talent with a professional marketing background: Me. I’m launching a test program for small businesses: I’ll be the voice behind your blog. I’ll start and grow your twitter presence and maintain the twitter relationships. I’ll promote your events and we’ll develop a voice for your company.  Email me today for more information. Unfortunately, I am only able to take a small group of initial clients, so that I can focus my energies and hone my processes.

If you are a small business owner, this is a no-lose proposition!