Everybody Thinks They’re an Expert

We’re starting to see a new trend emerging. Here at Ballywho we get really concerned for businesses when we see stuff like this floating up to the surface. Consider this blog a public service announcement and warning. As Social Media continues to be the buzz phrase being bantered around in business and social circles, a new breed of so-called experts are lining up to teach you everything you’d ever want to know about social media. You’ve probably noticed these folks out there hawking their know-how. Some have legitimate marketing backgrounds and solid branding experience. Others appear to be part of this frightening new line of thinking that if you can send a tweet, than surely you must be able to teach others how to brand and market their businesses with social media.

Um, no, we beg to differ with that argument. After all, we know plenty of teenagers who can out-text us in a duel and leave us surrendering on our knees with serious carpal tunnel pain. But we wouldn’t want any of them necessarily planning our marketing program or ad campaigns. Just because someone is familiar with a medium, does not make them an expert, and just because someone knows how to use a tool skillfully does not mean they have a strategy.

It’s one thing to teach others how to enter the world of social media and navigate it. It’s quite another to claim that you can guide business leaders and entrepreneurs to super-size their business using Facebook or MySpace. Heck, should their business even be relying on either of these sites? After all, and we know we’re repeating ourselves here, but we can’t stress this enough: not every social media site is appropriate for every kind of business. An experienced marketing strategist is not only going to provide business owners with the knowledge and resources to build meaningful, relevant content, she’ll have a custom plan and metrics in place to back it up and measure its success for the client.

So before you embark on any new social media 101 learning adventure, particularly one that requires a serious investment beyond a book purchase on Amazon.com, be sure to ask four very important questions before committing yourself:

What is the professional background and experience of the social media “expert?”
How extensive is that person’s own use of social media marketing to promote his/her own business or other businesses and organizations?
What is your purpose for attending? Do you simply want to introduce yourself to basic concepts or are you looking for a specific plan or content services to launch your company’s social media profile?
And if you are seeking social media strategy and information about social media site strengths by business category, do you have evidence that this source can deliver it?
Social media can be an unbelievable tool to support your efforts to grow your business’s marketing program and especially to expand your reach in the marketplace. But be sure you know more about the experts who promise to lead the social media way, before you pack an apple for the teacher.