Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger
December 18th, 2008 | Author: Beth Harte
Written by Geoff Livingston and me and originally posted on The Buzz Bin.
The bad economy has brought to bear one unwelcome change. With a desire to use more cost effective communication forms, companies are looking to social media. As a result, there are many, many companies, agencies and consultants rushing to offer social media services. Unfortunately, they don’t know what they’re doing.
Companies need to turn a discerning eye onto their potential social media partners. Here’s a quick list of some ways to vet potential social media experts.
- When asked about listening, gives you a blank stare.
- Converses at people instead of with them on social networks
- No tangible past experience delivering return on investment either for themselves or others
- Doesn’t understand how social media integrates into larger corporate communications or business strategy
- First recommendation is to blog
- Believes in delivering messages
- Will ghostwrite blog posts and other social content for you
- Is willing to impersonate you online in social networks
- Trots in “social media expert” for sales meeting
- Their blog is less than six months old or has no comments
- Blog only has links to traditional 1.0 media sites
- Cannot host conversation without constantly interjecting self into said conversation
- Talks about cultivating your personal brand
- Will not allow employees to participate in larger conversation
- Will guarantee results without any prior experiences
- Just added new social media department
- Recommends Facebook Group as first tactic
- Defines social media as only tools (Facebook, blogs, Flickr <INSERT SHINY OBJECT HERE>) as opposed to conversations with communities
- First campaign involves a contest without a strategy
- Doesn’t know what Technorati is
- Talks about applying mass communications theory
- Posts less than five times a month on their blog
- Thinks social media is about creating content
- Suggests publishing promotional copy as social content
- Believes social media is the sole terrain of either PR or advertising
What would you add to this list?
[Image: Rifle Expert by Randy son of Robert]
Added on 12/19/08:
An hysterical video version from Andrea Vascellari (it’s worth the 5 minutes, Andrea adds on some good ones):
Tags: geoff livingston, social media, The Buzz Bin
62 Responses to “Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger”
Leave a Reply
Alas, #26 would have to be: “Plagiarizes other people’s work and re-posts it as his/her own.” Or, even worse, ghost-plagiarizes it for the client on their, um, behalf. I’ve seen it attempted first hand by self-styled “professionals.” And I’ve run (not walked) in the opposite direction.
Three more clues:
1. Wears title of Social Media Optimizer proudly.
2. Thinks tags are for SEO.
3. Think that your blog will have meaningful business impact (or some other buzzword code for mondo ROI) inside 30-60 days.
Mike Seidle’s last blog post..Should You Stop Your PPC Now That SEO is Working?
Great post. As I’ve been going through a learning process about social media myself, I’ll admit I’ve thought about (not acted upon) some of those when trying to figure out where to start. A follow on post suggestion would be the 25 things that define a social media expert or partner – it may help more from failing in the future and encourage more legions of learners the right way. Thanks for the insight.
Adam Cohen’s last blog post..A Quick Snapshot of Old vs. New Media
What a great list!! I think I’ll regurgitate this on my own blog if you don’t mind
(with all due referencing and links of course!)
Belinda Leskiw’s last blog post..One thing I have learnt in business…
Laughing my head off over the “personal brand” observation. Well said!
Thanks all! That Geoff Livingston is one witty guy!
It was great to collaborate with him. While, it may seem a bit ‘tongue-in-cheek,’ it is becoming a serious issue and we’ll see more of it in 2009.
Hopefully, agencies and consultants will wake up and learn from their mistakes.
In the meantime, enjoy this gem that Drew McLellan unearthed. It’s a great example of what not to do: http://www.drewsmarketingminute.com/2008/12/social-media-fa.html
Enjoyed the post. I also had an agency pitch a social media strategy that included/plagiarized, word-for-word, a program I had just read about on a couple of publishers news sites and a blog. Not naming names, but I thought they would have at least changed a couple of points or added a bit of creativity to the pitch.
I close this comment with: “I am a social media explorer and truly believe we are all still experimenting.” If an agency approaches me with this perspective, they have a better chance of convincing me they might be able to help us.
Big thanks for the post and I will probably use some of these to inform our brand teams of what to watch out for.
Bert DuMars’s last blog post..Bernaise Source Story on Sharpie Blog
Their lips are moving…
Okay so my question is, how can we have “social media experts” when social media itself is still such a relatively new phenomenon? Or alternatively since we’re all shaping social media aren’t we all experts?
There are skills that you may have that you can use in the social media arena but that makes you an expert in that skill set. I think SM is whatever you bring to it.
Take that with a large grain of salt since I’m not a PR/Marketing person. But I am a blogger, podcaster, and something of a SM junky.
Scott’s last blog post..Rick Warren To Pray
Amazing post! Made me laugh out loud and think of all the meeting where I’ve heard some of these points being thrown around!
Sarah’s last blog post..My Top 5…
Love this list Beth! You and Geoff collaborated on a funny and smart list that all companies should read over.
Sonny Gill’s last blog post..how to kick the recession in the butt
You mean Technorati is still working?!
I have another one:
Says or believes that social media is just another way of saying “advertising and PR”.
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onTop 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger …Here’s a quick excerptHow to know a great social media consultant from a bad one. [...]
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onTop 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger …Here’s a quick excerptWith a desire to use more cost effective communication forms, companies are looking to social media. As a result, there are many, many companies, agencies and consultants rushing to offer social media services. Unfortunately, they don’t … [...]
Ouch and awesome.
They say that Twitter is a tactic.
Jen Harris’s last blog post..How to Turn 36
Three more, all true stories:
- Has Flash portfolio website with a link to their blogspot hosted blog — with last post in 2006.
- Interrupts frequently while you’re describing your audience, products, and business goals.
- Google the name of the proposed “social media expert”. See less than 100 results.
[...] 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert is a Carpet Bagger, authors Geoff Livingston and Beth Harte give you 25 reasons to smile while nodding your head [...]
I’m happy you liked the video! Thank you for the inspiration Beth!
Andrea
Andrea Vascellari’s last blog post..Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger
Andrea – great fun .. and sadly too true.
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onTop 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger …Here’s a quick excerptWhere to find me on-line:. Alltop, all the cool kids (and me). Visit Marketing 2.0. Visit Social Media Club. Visit Society for Word of Mouth. Visit PitchEngine. Visit PROpenMic … [...]
fascinating list. how about more explanation?
Beth, Hi There,
Nice post. To your point the issue will grow exponentially in 2009 and beyond. Everyone is looking at Social Media as the holy grail. Things are being purported that just aren’t so.
In our experience, as we learn and traverse the Social Media path, it takes a lot of work and time commitment. There is no instant Social Media gratification.
Eric Brown’s last blog post..The Social Media Split Personality
[...] Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert Is a Carpetbagger – I was glad to come across this article because I’ve come across more and more people claiming to be social media experts and gurus. This list will help us discern if they are the real deal or not. [...]
[...] not to choose a social media consultant pretty much hits the nail on the head. In a related post Beth Harte and Geoff Livingston highlight 25 ways to tell if your social media consultant is a [...]
@MattMernagh, stay tuned…the a list of how to know a good SM consultant/agency will be compiled in 2009.
In the meantime, let me know which ones you’d like more of an explanation around and I would be happy to do just that.
Great! #10 and #15 are key. There are so many ‘experts’ out there who ‘guarantee’ results without any results of their own…
Shirley’s last blog post..Help! I Messed Up My WordPress URL Settings
[...] post is reproduced from Beth Harte’s blog. It puts forward 25 points on how to tell if your social media expert really knows what [...]
This is a great post…but I have to disagree with you on a couple of points.
#1. Blogging first. For me, this is personal and I let people decide what feels most comfortable for them. Personally, my blog was a very safe place for me to find my voice and experiment before venturing out into social media/networks. And, I’m always dismayed when I connect with people on Twitter, for instance, and I have no where to go and learn more about who they are, what they do and how they operate. I see blogs as a portfolio and good personal real estate…my blog is integral to my social media presence and activity.
#2 Ghost blogging. I wrote about this recently. First of all, not all people can write – should they be left out of social media as a result? When I blog for a client, and I do, I take it on like I do any marketing writing – by listening to their voice, their ideas, their personality and then I become the vehicle for them to communicate. But, they are still present and I think that’s the key. So, I agree with you (especially about social media)…and I don’t (specifically about blogging).
Julie Roads’s last blog post..When you are so 2009 & your web copy is so 1987
Julie – I did not see #7 as a problem, and my business is 100% shameless Ghost Writing. The real issue here is conflict of interest.
Consultants should not be paid for advising people to buy their services. It is the definition of conflict of interest. This is the problem:
Customer: So, I’ve spent thousands to get the perfect plan. So, what’s did you come up with?
Consultant: Have me ghost write your blog. And do your SEO. Oh, and I’ll have my buddy string up a new network for you while we are at it.
Customer: What just happened?
This is the classic it/web/seo/advertising/sm carpetbagger tactic. Get paid to recommend their own services. Advice to customers looking for a consultant: avoid these.
Mike Seidle’s last blog post..The Indiana Social Network Use Survey
Mike! I totally agree with you…would love to have you hear my rant about SEO carpetbaggers. The scariest thing? Clients want it…they ask and ask and I have to educate and educate…oy.
Julie Roads’s last blog post..When you are so 2009 & your web copy is so 1987
I love it when the guilty dog barks loudly!
Geoff Livingston’s last blog post..Work Ethic 1.0: Good Stewardship
[...] so Beth Harte has me thinking because of her “Top 25 Ways to Tell if Your Social Media Expert is a Carpetbagger“. On Beth’s blog, she posts: “7. Will ghostwrite blog posts and other social [...]
Based on recent comments, I thought I’d elaborate…
There are a few basic reasons why companies shouldn’t blog first:
1. Not all companies need a blog and by presenting it as a first step in social media could cause more harm than good.
2. They don’t have a community (i.e. target market(s) or audience in the traditional marketing sense). By setting up a blog first they run the risk of continuing to push content one-way… essentially onto deaf ears or resistant eyes. How does that help them engage in conversation? It doesn’t. If they take the steps to listen to their community first and then participate in conversation via networking it will make it much easier to start blogging when the time is right because it’s a natural extension of their community and conversation.
As for ghostwriting/blogging…
Here’s what I would ask companies to consider…Social media is about being, well, social. The tools are just tools and they change constantly. It’s the community (i.e. your customers, prospects, investors, etc.) and engagement with that community that stays constant (on- and off-line). If you are a CEO, VP of Marketing, manager, etc. and don’t feel comfortable speaking (i.e. writing a blog or conversing in a social network) with your community, perhaps social media isn’t right for you and that’s more than okay. Don’t let someone think you need to have a blog. Also, there are a lot of great examples of corporations doing a great job with social media, so please don’t buy into the notion that you need ghostwriters to join. Follow the lead of companies like Comcast, Dell, Zappos, Newell Rubbermaid, Office Max, and Best Buy. And yes, it’s okay to have your content edited or check for grammar, that’s not ghostwriting. Just don’t consider allowing someone to have a voice for you.
Here are the issues that I have with ghostwriting, most likely based on years of PR experience and working with CEOs and VPs that don’t like to get caught with their proverbial pants down:
1. I write all my own blog posts, they are based my thoughts, opinions, ideas, and passion. I know every single word I have written and I controlled the context in which it was written. If a client asks me to elaborate and discuss further, I can. Can your customers/clients say the same about you when your thoughts were outsourced?
2. If the media or an analyst contacts me asks me for a comment on a post I wrote 3 months ago, I can do that on the fly in the same voice. Would you be able to do the same or would you find yourself scrambling?
And a few final thoughts…When looking for a social media agency or consultant, check them out for yourself. Are they walking the walk, or just talking the talk? I think it’s easy to tell.
And if someone suggests that social media is all about SEO…run like hell in the opposite direction.
Geoff Livingston and I will be following up in the New Year with a post on how to tell a great social media agency or consultant. Stay tuned…
Beth -
I totally agree with you on the subject of blogging first. It’s usually not the best direction to go at first, and in many cases it never is the right way to go. The sad thing is that many consultants are just doing what they know, or generating business for their captive service agency.
But I have to mildly disagree with you on the issue of ghost writing… because there really isn’t an issue with it – when it’s done correctly. The issues you bring up are really amateur versus professional kinds of problems. An amateur puts words in the client’s mouth. A professional does not. An amateur tries to be brilliant and make the client look better. A professional says what the client wants said, in the way the client would say it. And a professional always, always ensures the client knows what was written. Of course, this assumes the client cares – and when the client doesn’t care, social media becomes a very, very rough neighborhood very quickly.
Mike Seidle’s last blog post..The Indiana Social Network Use Survey
@MikeSeidle, Thanks for stopping by for a third time, I can see this is an important conversation for you. What can I say? We’ll just have to agree on disagreeing. The notion that ghostwriting can be done ‘correctly’ in the world of social media transparency is inherently flawed. I hardly think they are amateur issues that I raised, they are indeed realistic in the world of social media as well as media and community relations. All writers have an inherent bias based on their experience and style (and with over 14 years of marcom writing experience I count myself). No matter how good or professional a writer thinks they might be they aren’t inside the head of the person they think they can speak for nor can they ever have that person’s thoughts or voice (For example, I know Amber Naslund at The Brand Box really well, but I could never ghostwrite a blog post for her while she’s on vacation. Her readers would know in a heartbeat). And you completely missed my point…most people will never remember anything they are told verbatim or in the exact context and that is the issue.
People that ghostwrite blogs are setting clients up for failure in the blogosphere. What happens on Twitter or Facebook (or any other socnet)? Will you ghostwrite their conversations for them there too? Will you respond to all the comments ? How about a media interview at a trade show, will you be whispering in their ear to make sure they got a 2-month old post all straightened out in their head?
As you see it, where’s the line in the sand? Because from where I sit, all of it is interwoven and that’s the most important take away for companies.
Beth, I’m with you on the ghost writing. In fact, your response is worthy of its own separate post on appropriate roles of the publicist when it comes to social media.
I recently wrote a bit about ghost writing — I have a “no ghost posties” policy with regard to blogging AND other social media character/thought pieces. There are only 3 appropriate publicist roles with regard to social media:
Set up – Monitoring – Advice.
That’s it!
I’m also OK with writing a bio, doing the technical set-up, or publishing data (event & venue changes, for example, with the tag “on behalf of…” ). I’m even OK with editing thought pieces.
That’s the extent of my social media ghostliness, though!
You?
haha That’s a GREAT list! There are also too many people passing themselves off as “marketing gurus” and some who say there are no such thing as “social media experts”.
Beth –
I’m not writing to get your personal endorsement. If you measure satisfaction by happy clients, then I’m doing off the scales fantastic. By all standards we’re doing what we do as well as it can be done.
What this does point out is that there are multiple points of view on the ghostwriting issue, but one point of agreement:
A social media consultant who includes in their recommendations that they ghost write your blog is a carpetbagger.
Let’s leave it at that and move on, because at the end of the day, what matters most is that the client is happy, getting expected results and ultimately, would recommend you or I to our next potential client.
Mike Seidle’s last blog post..The Indiana Social Network Use Survey
Overall, I like your take on suggested guidelines to consider when vetting an SM partner. There are a few items that I disagree with, such as “just added a social media dept.” If that new department were headed by a seasoned practitioner like Steve Rubel, Dave Parmet, Josh Hallett or Lish Dorset – it could be the best talent around, regardless of being new.
Also, I disagree with the criteria of “Post’s less than five times a month on their blog.” No one is going to love all social media tools/platforms. The beauty of social media is the democracy it provides users in regard to choosing delivery, methods, activity levels and preferred communities of people.
A prolific blog does not an expert make. First, there are many SM blogs out there filled with meaningless drivel written by inexperienced hacks. Second, a blog is simply one social media “way in.” The beauty of social media right now, is that it’s an evolving playground with many flourishing communities that feature a variety multimedia platforms. Not a writer? Record a podcast or vodcast. Speak via photos? Be a photoblogger or scrapbooker. A text talker? micoblog.
Guidelines like the ones you and Geoff penned are helpful for new, interested parties, but the reality is that (like your last entry): there are no rules.
Online community members are deciding what works and what doesn’t when they log on every day. Heralded case studies will change rapidly as the consumer changes and evolves; as technology & pop culture change and evolve. Social Media, like much of marketing, is about remaining current and/or one step ahead of your audience, connecting with them in the way that they want to be connected and remaining nimble enough to embrace SM change because it’s constantly changing. That, PLUS, understanding the fundamentals of marketing; the fundamentals haven’t changed. We still need to know how to dribble with the fancy footwear that help us make those sexy three-pointers;)
@LauraBergells, totally agree. I also think a review of initial posts is okay too (like you mentioned), just to make sure that the corporate blogger is comfortable with the process.
@AnnieHeckenberger, thanks for the additional things to consider they are indeed important.
Because you know Geoff and I very well, you know that this list was done tongue-in-cheek . As Geoff says ‘a la garage band practice.’
That said you bring up a lot of great points that should be considered. A blog isn’t the end all. A lot of folks would do better with a podcast/vlog/microblogging/etc.
Our point was an SM “expert” coming in an telling a company “you MUST have a blog and we can help you. We can even WRITE it for you!!” And then you see that they don’t even have a well-kept or, as you mentioned, well-written blog themselves.
The bottom line is that the community that is being served or the target market/audience (trad. marketing speak there) is going to be the best sounding board for what works for them. And that is the challenge that companies will have when selecting an agency or consultant for SM help (i.e. finding one that won’t try to sell them on all the shiny tools). AND in some cases social media will not be applicable at all.
Love the basketball analogy…
[...] Harte recently wrote a great article about weeding out the ‘carpetbagger’ social media experts. In her list of 25 things to watch out for, I agreed wholeheartedly with 22 of them – and feel [...]
Overall, I think your points are sound, but I do disagree on your point about blogging.
Becoming aware of the community, the competitors, and the conversation out there is all a part of the blogging endeavor. Becoming familiar and well-versed in what’s happening before putting key to keyboard is important, and blogging kickstarts that into motion. Via notifications like Google Alerts, and searches on Blogpulse, Technorati, etc., a company can easily monitor what’s going on with their industry and their particular brand.
But what are they going to do with all of that information? Having an end goal in mind – blogging, writing content, voicing the other side of the story – allows them to participate in the conversation that’s already taking place around them. And frankly, I think it’s the easiest way.
Not everyone knows how to blog, but most people know how to tell a story. Especially if the audience is out there, waiting to be found and engaged.
Fayza’s last blog post..Awesome things? About me? Okay!
[...] create copious – which, translated, means often indigestible and inconceivable – amounts of rules, rules, rules, rules. Because, well, you know. We social media folk know what social media is and what [...]
[...] The post was never meant to be anything more than half rant/half humor, but the 180+ comments on both of our blogs indicate that we touched a much bigger nerve. Since it’s a prescient topic, we’d like [...]
[...] If you remember only one thing from this post, please do NOT give your limited funds to someone who calls himself a “social media expert” unless you do some heavy-duty research (that’s not to say experts don’t exist because there are many well qualified individuals, but with online marketing it’s buyer beware). [...]
Great post. We’ve almost reached a stage where every other twitter or friendfeed reader considers him/her self as a social media expert. Since its a new phenomenon, this is bound to happen and the dust will take some time to settle.
About #3, If every client will ask for previous experience, how will a new guy get his first contract ?
Mayank Dhingra’s last blog post..Book Club @ kwippy
[...] who realy are the experts in this field? Here’s an article talking about [...]
Great List! However I disagree with posting 5 times per month on a blog. We post a blog post once or twice per month and then carry on conversation on twitter, and other social networks about those blog post.
@MayankDhingra, as for “No tangible past experience delivering return on investment either for themselves or others” the point is that someone with marketing, communications, PR experience who is now engaging in SM will have past experience with other campaigns that have resulted in delivering ROI. Meaning, they understand enough and have enough experience that they can share with potential clients. This will weed out people with experience versus those, like you mentioned, who think just because they know social media tools (and us them) doesn’t mean they understand how to implement them into a marketing, PR or communications plan. That’s why I dislike the term ’social media marketing.’ Just because you are good at using the tools doesn’t mean you are a good marketer.
@BethHarte: Thanks for explaining what you meant. I fully agree with you that knowing how to use certain tools doesn’t mean one is a good marketer.
Also, are you suggesting that there isn’t any space for people who don’t have previous experience with traditional marketing but are getting into new media marketing and leveraging tools to implement their ideas, campaigns ?
Mayank Dhingra’s last blog post..Internet campaign of BJP’s L.K Advani