What do Social Media Experts need to know?
In a recent article, Brian Solis address the ongoing controversy of what makes a “social media expert”.
The truth is that experts, whether it’s social media or any field for that matter, are inspired by possibilities, but proven through experience and the ongoing quest to transform theory into practice. The more seasoned experts will also have figured out how to establish business metrics and in turn, design campaigns that map to objectives.
It’s this process of asking and answering questions that forms the framework for how and what to measure…But you can’t measure what you don’t know to track. You can’t start if you don’t know what questions to ask. I believe that programs inspired by insight, data, and business-caliber goals (before you start experimenting) set the foundation for a program that might share some attributes with many of the “how to’s” that are out there, but are unique in their content, context, execution, support, and measurement – and that’s the point.
Much of the information online is helpful for inspiring creativity and direction. But, it’s up to each one of us to get the answers through the hard work necessary to see how any of this applies to our unique challenges and opportunities that face us today and tomorrow. We have to become the very experts in our space that we once sought to answer our own questions.
In A lot of words he is saying that consultants (such as he) can provide the “insight, data, and business-caliber goals” for your social media program, but they can’t give you the “content, context, execution, support, and measurement.” These 5 unique factors are something that come from the “soul” of the business, it’s what makes social media an intimate experience with your customers. I found the remark that we can all be “social media experts” to be a bit fluffy, though. Not everyone has the time to ask the questions, practice the theory, etc as he states is necessary. I thought it was worth the share. It is a pretty honest statement, and sure takes a lot of heat off the consultants. :)
What do you think makes a social media expert?
