Social Media Bashing is Boring as Hell
There’s a fair few blog posts doing the rounds about social media.
How its practitioners are snake-oil salesmen.
Why everyone’s just out to make a quick buck.
How businesses are being ripped off by consultants who charge an arm and a leg for their time and deliver very little back in return.
One of the better headlines I spotted was Why Social Media Gurus Should Be Trampled by Elephants (check out the edited URL as well for extra emphasis). To be fair, that post makes some good points, while draped in a humorous link-bait title.
But here’s the thing.
While there are definitely crap merchants out there who wouldn’t know a tweet from a poke, there are also many more incredibly smart and business-savvy individuals and agencies that are bringing their clients huge success in social media.
You know why?
Because their clients actually had the common sense to do due diligence on who they were employing as their social media arm. Because the consultants/agencies had results and actionable strategies (with return predictions) to show. Because, simply put, the business owner acted like a business owner.
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. It doesn’t matter that “social media is new”, “social media is scary”, “we don’t understand social media”, or any other excuse or phrase you want to use.
If you do your job as a business owner and protect your investment, there wouldn’t be the need for any social media bashing (or any other industry bashing). You’d be asking questions that should be asked of any supplier.
- What’s your experience?
- Name some of the projects you’ve worked on.
- What was the strategy used?
- How did the results versus the projections go?
- How will this really benefit my company?
- What’s the time map?
- How will you transfer your skills to my industry?
Forget how many Twitter followers someone has – that can be gamed and bought. Forget how sparkly their blog is – that can be paid for. Forget how they name drop players in the industry – is that relevant to you?
Instead, treat social media like you would any other part of your business. Carry out due diligence and don’t be sold on the first whiz-bang pitch you receive.
You’ve built your business to where it is now because you’ve been protective of your investment.
Why stop that now?
Image: What What
80 Responses to “Social Media Bashing is Boring as Hell”
Great point, Stephen.
Though it shouldn’t be an excuse. I don’t understand all the number-crunching my accountant does, but I’ll make sure I know his background and how his other/previous clients view him and his competencies.
Lack of understanding shouldn’t result in lack of caring…
So true…
As you point out with an accountant you’ll be sure to check background, references etc. Maybe business owners feel compelled to review the “boring” job prospects but get caught up with the “flash” of Social Media:-)
Though as you mentioned above, any serious investment requires due diligence. If you don’t understand the background, find someone who does and can advise you.
I agree there is good and bad in every industry. The thing with social media it just seems like everyone and their mother are trying to capitalize on the market, this has caused a bad reputation for the industry in a whole.
Danny recently posted…. RE Bar Camp Orlando 2010
True. More reasons to carry out the required due diligence. And make sure your business is entering social media for the right reasons, and not just because it’s “the latest fad.”
Good point of view, stephen.
I agree that there’s a lack of understanding here.
accountants in worcester recently posted…. My First BlogWell, I’ve been on Twitter for 4 years, had an edu account at Facebook before it was open to the public, and have read many thousands of blogs. I had never heard of Alex Blom, despite “I’ve been ‘doing the Twitter’ for years”.
Instead of typical drive-by bullshit, Alex,
create a very specific post with examples
incompetent carpet baggers enjoining the terminology in a growing industry, and out them.
I too detest the overuse of cute buzzwords of the day – including the ones you “internet marketers” use.I really do. I’ve gone right at top pros and friends for it.
But sideswiping a profession with generalities
is amateurish linkbaiting.
You may be think “I win – I got clicks and got you all to think about me”.
But we also keep the negative connotation.“Engage” is indeed very actively used
in recent months, especially as rooted by Brian Solis http://www.briansolis.com/So, if an accomplished professional
like Solis, who has helped companies out of their negative spectrum thinking
and archaic communication practices to a
better, more fruitful interaction with their customers is to be trampled under elephants,
we’re all screwed.The funny thing I found with Alex’s post is that the points are relevant, but they lose their effect because the post takes a tarred by the same brush approach, as opposed to dissecting the bad from the good.
He’s also got a decent background (going by his bio), which makes the approach even more curious.
Plus ca change…
Excellent post, Danny. I think that what is needed is education. Sometimes the businesses that hire their social media tasks out do so precisely because they have no knowledge, no experience in SM marketing (which is exactly the reason they are contracting the project).
This makes them ripe for any old “expert,” (someone who might have been selling shoes last week) to step in with the “solution.” Honestly, I have seen so-called “experts” who don’t have an online presence themselves, haven’t published a blog post in four months, present themselves as social media specialists.
So, that list of questions to ask (by the way, I like yours) becomes critical in order to protect your investment—time AND dollars. I wrote a post on this topic a while back, “7 signs that your social media ‘expert’ might be a fake.”
Wish more biz owners would read this post.
I wonder if there’s a need for an accreditation body, Judy? Similar to the PRSA or IAB?
Obviously it’s not as clear cut as these two, since social media is more a platform than an industry. But it’d sure help the companies currently being taken for a ride by shysters.
I’d be interested to hear more follow up on what the role of an accreditation body would be and also whether that’s necessary.
Melissa recently posted…. Making Phone Calls Directly from Gmail
Every coin has two sides, Danny. Social media is no exception.
For every mentor helping out the true cause, there are two others posing as experts and/or gurus.
Nothing beats due diligence – in choosing a plumber to fix a leaky faucet – or in choosing a mentor to help navigate social media.
I keep getting surprised when people come telling me that Project Management isn’t a valid profession – and that someone else can do the job equally well. Sure, they can – but then they too are being project managers
I’d say the same of social media!
Kapil Apshankar recently posted…. Three Things Seth Godin Taught Me About Social MediaFor sure, Kapil.
What doesn’t help is posts by folks also in the industry tarring everyone with the same brush.
Intentional or not, it doesn’t help companies still trying to find reputable agencies when all they’re reading is “every social media person is crap”.
If you’re a business owner, use the mobile phone technique. Sure, the whiz-bang pyrotechnics of the latest smartphone are cool.
But does it really offer you anything better than a similar model that’s actually right for you and your needs?
Danny,
I was talking to Barry Hurd (123socialmedia) about that very issue a while back. If I recall correctly, at that time he thought that regulation was something that needed to be considered. But then the questions become: What are the standards, who enforces them, etc..
And part of the SMC.org (Social Media Club), of which we are members of the Seattle chapter, is to promote industry standards.
These are great questions and they deserve some attention, if only to make the job of the real SM experts like you easier.
That’s the problem with the regulatory option, Judy. Unless it has legislative powers (like the FTC), there’s no real onus to adhere to standards. Even the PRSA only promotes standards within their confines, but there’s no real punishment for those that don’t work to them.
Sure, they get thrown out the PRSA, but if you’re a rogue agency anyway, would you really care?
Danny,
Thanks for the link back. I wanted to respond to a few of the comments here:
1) I don’t claim to be an internet celebrity or highly followed individual. I just claim to have been using the channels for some time.
2) Yes, I do quite a bit of digital consulting and I support the industry and what it can achieve in general. As I qualified at the top of the post and throughout, I am railing against a certain subset of practitioners who meet the said criteria.
Hi Alex,
I don’t think anyone said you were an internet celeb or highly followed (although 38,500 on Twitter is no small fish)
Was that note always on the post? I don’t recall seeing it (and if it was, my apologies) – though going by the majority of the comments on the post, the note hasn’t negated what many are taking from it, i.e., all social media “gurus/experts/consultants/marketers” (delete where applicable) aren’t worth the fees they’re charging.
This is probably due to some of the points you make in the post.
You mention having a professional photo-shopped image for your bio. Folks could look at your Twitter profile and see what could be a normal shot taken in front of a brick wall somewhere. There’s no optimization of the background either, whereas most businesses/consultants, etc, would have that customized to reflect a brand of some sort. Now, would it be fair for folks to judge you on that and not look at the full bio on your website, which is obviously a lot more impressive?
The technical aspect is less important too. Every business has their go-to guy about certain areas. Marketers do marketing, graphic artists do design, accountants do numbers, etc.
Just because a marketer doesn’t know about numbers doesn’t mean he or she can’t help you align your financial goals on a project. They would use the expertise of someone on their team that could. I’d rather have a consultant be strong in the area I need them for, as opposed to be stretched across many. They can always outsource the expertise.
Like I said in the post, you make valid points. But perhaps the certain type view you were going for doesn’t come across, due to the points mentioned here?
Danny,
The note was added about 12 hours after going live, Sunday morning. However, the previous opening paragraph was the same; stating that not all practitioners are bad. In fact, in many other posts I state the positive attributes. This post is (clearly) a tongue in cheek way to rail against a very specific type of social media marketer.
I don’t claim to have an optimized profile but I clearly state ‘site’ in that paragraph and follow it up with the white edges / poor shot comment. Nowhere did I state a perfectly clipped image with no background. My Twitter is not optimized because I rarely promote myself for independent consulting offerings and in all honesty most people who tweet me do so from tools, not Twitter.com.
As for technical, social media is a technology platform just as much as it is a marketing platform. Earlier I state SM works best integrated, something I remain firm in. No, you don’t need to be an engineer but you need to fundamentally understand your platform, no? Especially if, like I suggest, you work integrated.
I enjoy a healthy debate but let’s not stretch things too much here.
Hi again Alex,
That explains it, I probably read the earlier version (and it does add a different slant to the overall intro).
But that’s the exact point, isn’t it? Folks reading your post (or other similar ones) might take away that if you don’t have an optimized profile (whether it’s just an image on a Twitter profile, or a web bio), then you don’t take yourself seriously, so why should I, the potential client?
Like you say, most folks that tweet with you are using third-party apps. But a Google Search from a potential client would show up the Twitter web profile. If they go by the understanding that appearances need to be as professional as possible, would a non-optimized Twitter (or Facebook) profile put them off further investigation?
Agreed, social media is a tech platform. It’s also a customer service platform; a PR platform; a lead generation platform; a recruiting platform; a news channel; a non-profit channel; pretty much anything you want it to be.
That doesn’t mean you necessarily need to know the fundamentals of every single thing it can do.
Yes, if you’re selling web design on the WordPress platform, you need to know what FTP is and would PHP4 still be relevant over PHP5.
But for the real deep down and dirty stuff, you have folks that can do that for you, whether in-house or outsourced.
this is all very true Danny! There are people out there who can help and do help businesses to make the best use of the soc med space. If you are unsure of them then ask for some social proof and spend the time checking them out! It’s not hard in this online age!
mike_mcgrail recently posted…. The Social Penguin Blog – Now On Own DomainThere’s a saying that’s used a lot, but very true, Mike – “Google is your friend.”
Take some time on there – you’d be amazed at what you can find.
Great post Danny. Agree that if clients are not doing their due-diligence they are partly to blame for the bad results they get. I’ve been working in design and digital media for 20 years and consistently I have been cleaning up other people’s messes. Whether it was a terrible brochure or web design – or an incompetent job on marketing strategy. Social Media is no different than any other industry with ‘bad guys’ preying on the uninformed customer. If its not social media than its a bad roofer, or mechanic… these people count on customers not taking the time to educate themselves or to check references.
Agreed, Randy, and that’s where the real snake oil salesmen make a killing. But as you say, not being educated on a medium doesn’t mean you can’t be educated on a company and its results.
Think of it this way – would you trust the company you’re working with with your kid’s college fund?
Love this – that’s all. You’re back to your insightful best, Danny Brown. Thank you.
Cheers, Iggy
Iggy Pintado recently posted…. Connection Story 5- Every Connection is an opportunity…Very good advice. I wonder why we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, spending thousands of $ on bright, shiny things.
Remember when we were kids and believed there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?
Then we grew up and realized even rainbows are just a trick of the light and circumstance. Maybe we should go back to school and start reading up on rainbows again.
Danny,
The obvious issue right now is there is a large group of people trying to capitalize on the buzz of social media. The fact that they have created a facebook account with many followers, have been tweeting for a few years and have authored a blog seems to be ample credentials to qualify as a social media expert. I’ve bore witness to people I’ve known for years magically tacking “social media expert” to their titles – i.e. Real Estate Agent / Social Media Expert, Event Planner / Social Media Consultant, etc.
Add to this an even larger pool of businesses, who don’t understand what social media is or how to use it, being told that it’s equal to the second coming of Christ and you have a big problem.
About 1/3 of my business, which is targeted to SMEs, includes some form of social media consulting (almost always as part of a larger marketing communications program). I am constantly flabbergasted that have never once been asked to provide examples of work, references, or compelling reasons why I should be considered an expert.
I agree that the missing link is an educated and thorough dialogue (aka INTERVIEW) with potential consultant candidates to weed the charlatans from the sages.
In order to have this dialogue, businesses need to be able to speak the language. Everyone knows the pitfalls of hiring an accountant to manage you books when you know absolutely nothing about your finances. The same is true about knowing nothing about social media and hiring an expert. Businesses need to take the time to understand the basics of social media so they have the ammunition to have an intelligent discussion and enough experience to assess a candidate.
Second, they need to take the time to TALK to a candidate and ask the RIGHT questions (I just blogged on this very topic this morning). Seth Godin talked about the need to ask lots of questions to really understand the depth of someone you’re talking to. A shallow understanding of a topic will become very apparent the more questions you ask.
Thanks for a good dialogue, as usual.
Lara McCulloch-Carter recently posted…. 25 questions to ask a social media expertPerhaps there’s an opportunity to set up a Learning Council, or something similar, Lara? Like you say, social media seems to lower the guards of business owners eager for a slice of the pie.
But at what stage do you ask yourself, “Hey, if I lower my guard in a fight, I’m ripe for punishment”?
Maybe more business owners need to adapt the mentality of a fighter, and only lower their guard when the danger has been neutralized?
Interesting food for thought, Danny. A portion of my business is education – but I focus on the end customer, not necessarily the SM practitioners.
Whether lowering their guard or fighting, I think more practitioners need to be honest with their strengths and their weaknesses. I don’t touch SM maintenance, I do limited SM monitoring. My sweet spot is upfront strategy and training. I don’t own the whole pie. I say no to a lot of business. But that allows me to stay great at what I’m great at
Lara McCulloch-Carter recently posted…. 25 questions to ask a social media expert
Here’s the thing. The vast majority of “information” about social media and business, for example, is positive, and riddled with bad data, bad logic, and plain misleading stuff. If pointing this out is bashing, then it’s a sad world, where those that dissent are criticized.
I’m a social media “basher” if providing critical thinking and relevant information about social media is part of bashing.
Robert Bacal recently posted…. Vids Dude- Your Head Is ShinyI actually agree with you, Robert. I’ve offered my fair share of criticism on bad practices and charlatan agencies/consultants.
I’m not sure if I agree with the vast majority being bad data, though. If you’re just going by face value and looking at the bigger stats that everyone drives out, then yes, they’re flawed inasmuch they’re social media campaigns propped up by large traditional media too.
But if you look beyond the Zappos and Dells of the world and really see the business successes that are happening, there’s a lot less bad data and real, actionable results coming through.
Of course, the charlatans won’t show these results because they’re not as sexy as an online shoe retailer being bought for $850 million, are they?
Hi Danny! Great post. I’ve been recently reflecting in a similar vein (http://marketingisus.com.au/going-for-the-guru/) ..although not specifically about social media practitioners.
Your point about business owners doing their due diligence is key. Good on you Danny! Thanks. Take care.
Anne Sorensen recently posted…. “It’s all in the timing” Seizing opportunities!Interesting post, Anne – funny how those that are really qualified to be “gurus”, or whatever label would be attached, are the last ones to want to have that title?
I know!! Perhaps we could ban the word in business!
Anne Sorensen recently posted…. “It’s all in the timing” Seizing opportunities!Hi Danny! Was doing some lunchtime laps and thinking more about your post. Perhaps there could be a Certified Practising Social Media Marketer type award devised – with the ‘certification’ being awarded by the peer to peer network and the concept overseen in a non profit organisation whose board would comprise some of the real ‘gurus’ (dare I use that word!
) .. Guess there will always be room for exploitation which would devalue the idea .. but a peer to peer rating is in keeping with the spirit of social media and interactivity … mmm something to think about. PS Congratulations on the considerable engagement and conversation you’ve stimulated on your blog … it’s very special!
Take care – speak again soon. Love from Downunder.
Anne Sorensen recently posted…. “It’s all in the timing” Seizing opportunities!
To be honest I thought most of the ‘Social Media’ bashing comes from people on (specifically) Twitter who get tired of (specifically) seeing the same old subject matter trotted out, being recycled by hundreds of ‘Social Media’ bloggers. Yet with each new post there is almost nothing different but the title of the piece and the domain name it links to.
At least that has been the disgruntled complaints I’ve most seen and in my own experience, of disgruntlement, that’s the only aspect of ‘Social Media blogging’ I’ve complained about.
Now this particular post title “Why Social Media Gurus Should Be Trampled by Elephants” is amusing in its exaggerated rage. I didn’t read it and won’t because I love elephants and don’t ever want them to be blamed for the murder of anyone, even if that murder is killing a boring Social Media Blogger. Elephants FTW, as far as I’m concerned.
As long as you keep up the good blogging Danny Brown I don’t think you need look over your shoulder for fear of a stampede.
Carry on mate…
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It’s seems as though people are more likely to abdicate those kinds of responsibilities when they don’t understand the technology. They probably wouldn’t do the same for an accountant or other internal position, but odds are they have a much better grasp on the requirements.
Stephen Murphey recently posted…. How to ReBrand Yourself Using Social Media