Please excuse me for opening this post on a negative note. I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, but there’s an issue in social media that’s become somewhat irritating lately. It relates to the trend of snake oil salesmen in the field of social media. The issue is that of “social media experts.”

How do you define a “social media expert”?

There is definitely no shortage of an uprising of so-called social media experts. Every time I turn around, I see another person branding themselves as an expert in social media.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This is America, and people are free to pursue the American dream. If somebody wants to start a business, there’s no harm in that.

But, how do you define an expert in social media?

First of all, anybody claiming to be an expert is most likely not. An individual’s knowledge and experience with technology, marketing, media, and communication should speak for itself when it comes to social media

I’d like to make it clear that social media strategy involves much more than being able to sign up for and post content on social networking web sites. It seems as though these are the most evident qualifications among the so-called social media experts.

Social media strategy includes aspects of research, planning, execution, implementation, analysis, and maintenance. It also includes integration of traditional strategies couple with real-world interaction, among other things.

As a starting point, I would like to make it clear that I am not a social media expert. I do, however, look to case studies of my own campaigns and those of other companies and individuals who have initiated successful social media campaigns for ideas of best practice social media scenarios.

I also think it is necessary that someone who wants to take this field seriously also have knowledge with all aspects of social media. This includes marketing, customer service, web development, mobile development, multimedia design, psychology, public relations, and brand management (among others).

This also includes technical knowledge of what actually makes social sites work. For example, understanding how the coding of a web site connects with a database to push and pull data. Multimedia aspects including the differences among various print, web, and broadcast resolutions, rules for good design, and file sizes for various types of media are all important and also just the tip of the iceberg.

There are so many characteristics of proper social media execution that I could not list them all here. I also do not claim to have expert knowledge of these characteristics.

Social media professionals should also keep up to date with the industry. What is happening with the industry? How is social media changing various industries as it relates to marketing, technology, communication, etc.? What are other companies (of all types) doing with social media? What is working, and what is not? There are more questions that could be mentioned here, but I digress.

With all the aspects that are involved with social media, is it possible to be an expert in the field? Or would it be more appropriate to state that someone who is wholly entrenched with social media to be a “jack of all trades”?

Don’t be a social media snake oil salesman. Know your stuff. Live in the industry. Know it in and out. If you are pawning off social media services, but don’t really know what you are doing, your results will be evident of that fact.

Those social media experts who claim that social media cannot be measured seem to be the same people who are unsuccessful with social media strategy and execution.

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