Comments on: Has the Social Media Expert Jumped the Shark?

By: EuroBlog Social Media Awards « Heather Yaxley – Greenbanana views of public relations and more

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:46:00 +0000

[...] a lot of online chatter recently about the value of social media as well as debate about “expertise“. So I was interested to receive an email from Philip Young regarding the Euprera [...]

By: Christine Smith

Christine Smith — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:55:46 +0000

Wonderful post! I especially like this: “A social media expert identifies business objectives, develops strategies to meet them and then delivers on all of the above.” That’s exactly what a strategic communicator should be doing for his/her clients whether the PR/communications involves social media or note.

By: Mark Evans

Mark Evans — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:23:12 +0000

Great post, Collin. I think social media consultant/expert/consultant is going to disappear soon or fade into the background as social media becomes just another tool within a marketing/communications arsenal. For now, social media expert is part of the landscape as the market continues to emerge.

Mark

By: Paige

Paige — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:34:27 +0000

Indeed Collin, indeed. So many folks are getting tangled in the delivery mechanism of the message and not focusing enough on the message itself.

To Martin’s point, many (of us) are distracted by the shiny, pretty, new and cool things; and they are that, no doubt. But who cares how you’re saying what you’re saying if what you’re saying is irrelevant, misplaced or without authenticity and clarity?

Having said that, delivery experts have a valuable place in the process. Once the message has been crafted we still need the tactical experts to ensure the message is delivered flawlessly and appropriately. The key is in knowing which expert you need and when. Craft the message first. Plan and execute its delivery second.

You wouldn’t go to your printer and ask her to write your brochure. You wouldn’t go to your developer and ask her to write or design content (necessarily) for your web site. Assessing the expertise of the social media “experts” you engage is equally as important.

How do you know what kind of expert they are? Ask them if they can help you craft your message. If they don’t ask what your corporate objectives, strategies, challenges and constraints are; if they don’t take significant time to understand what you’re trying to say and who needs to hear you, maybe you should keep looking. They may still be the right technical/ delivery expert, but not your message expert. Message first. Delivery second. Know where you are in the process and which expert you need.

Also my two cents.
@paigesaid

By: Mike Spear

Mike Spear — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:28:47 +0000

Put the message ahead of the platform – ya for that thought.
However it seems to be we should always be looking at what we want to say, why, and to whom all the time. In fact pretty much a constant evaluation of where we stand in public, media or government relations.
Way too many experts have made out social media to be such a ‘break the rules’ medium that they lose sight of what the exercise was in the first place.
Thanks for putting out some perspective on the whole game.

(though I might have added after the line about “anyone can be a content producer” that “and many should never be allowed anywhere near content” )

By: collin

collin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:01:44 +0000

Robert

… and who doesn’t like some fresh pudding?

thanks for the pov. Agreed

By: Robert John Ed

Robert John Ed — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:10:01 +0000

Objectives first eh? This is true in all marketing. There happens to be a big void for any shlep with a FB account to jump in right now. The so called experts are everywhere, there are too many in big business who are looking for change but don’t understand the new mediums. As such, they are willing to trust (radically) anyone off the street. Some are smarter, they will only work with people with huge amounts of followers or some sort of street credit (books, speaking gigs, etc.).

Not that they are necessarily a lot better, the mediums are in infancy and what’s more, they are a completely new type of communique. No one truly understands the associated behavior yet, but those able to manipulate it somehow will get first mover advantage. It probably won’t sustain over the long haul, but who can blame them?

The point is that the proof is in the pudding, but that isn’t out the oven yet.

By: collin

collin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:04:19 +0000

Thanks for the comment Martin.
Objectives before tactics every time. Social Media is extraordinarily effective if you prioritize in this sequence.

By: Martin Waxman

Martin Waxman — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:38:37 +0000

Great perspective Collin. Too often, people’s eyes glaze over by all the cool shiny-pretty-things (apps, widgets, you name it). As communicators, it’s really important for us to step back and say what’s our strategy and then carefully choose the tools that will help us achieve it.

By: michaelocc via Twitter

michaelocc via Twitter — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:36:52 +0000

Jumping the shark has jumped the shark. But has it nuked the fridge?