Do Social Media Experts Even Exist?

I was presented with the following query:  Do small and medium sized businesses ("SMBs") need a specific social media expert on their marketing teams. If they do, how can they tell if the expert is qualified?  It reminded me of a comment a social media presenter said to Booth Business School alumni - if someone claims to be a social media expert, they are lying!  The notion:  the environment is so new and is changing so rapidly that mature expertise is simply unobtainable.

My opinion is a bit more optimistic, and certainly self-serving (laugh track please).  So, here's my  response:

SMBs must allocate specific resources with social media expertise if the SMBs hope to appropriately engage with customers, B2B or B2C.  Two social media environment characteristics stipulate this expert resource allocation.  First, social media is a one to many, two-way engagement between a business and its customer base.  It is a fundamental shift from the one-way communications of traditional marketing and advertising and requires a broader communication skill set then one to one communications that occur at a physical location.  The required skill set can only be developed from personal and professional social media experience across a broad spectrum of sites and through multiple tools.  Time spent in the blogosphere, as a reader and possibly writer, will define a further well rounded social media skill set.

Change is the second social media environment characteristic that requires expert resource allocation.  Specifically, the engagement between a business and its customer base is always in flux with the focus shifting across products, campaign materials, culture, or even the off-time activities of employees.  Staying engaged, and sometimes above this conversation is a learned skill.  Then, even more broadly, the social media environment’s structure and MO constantly change with the evolution of sites, tools and channels participants use.  Change is so rapid, one might argue that social media ‘experts’ can’t exist, only individuals comfortable with the flux who also have the right skill set to adapt quickly and successfully engage in ambiguity.

That leads into how SMBs can recognize social media ‘expertise.’ Expertise will come from a history of personal, and possibly professional, social media engagement-3 years of heavy participation is valuable.  This engagement should span multiple sites and tools and be facilitated through web and mobile channels.  An expert should also have a footprint in the blogosphere from comments on posts read and-bonus-a blog of their own.  Past that, a manager should assess the individual’s comfort level when interacting in a rapidly changing environment.  One might suggest this characteristic and a history of social media engagement go hand in hand.

What do you think?  Is 3 years experience a good target?  Should the term 'expert' even be used?  Please enjoy digressing as you enjoy the holiday season!

Cheers

 

Comments

[Axel Schultze]

I very much like your statement "Expertise will come from a history of personal, and possibly professional, social media engagement". And yes, 3 years experience is certainly good - like with almost any other technique. Experts? The big issue is that there are more experts who just call them experts - so no way of telling. A certification may help but than who certifies the certifyer ;-)