The term “expert” or “guru” is generating a lot of discussion in social media circles of late. The general consensus is “actions speak louder than words” and while you may actually be an expert, you probably don’t want to call yourself one.
I came across this post from Peter Bregman on his Harvard Business Publishing blog and it got me thinking about what questions are essential to ask someone who calls themself a “social media expert” (SME).
I’ll start with five I’d recommend you ask, but would love to hear more from you in the comments.
1. Do you have a blog? Start off by finding out if they “walk the walk.” Most SMEs should have a blog and be posting interesting content on a regular basis. A big part of social media is giving back to the community and sharing what you learn – blogging is the most common way to do that.
2. How many comments do you average per blog post? This questions starts to get at how connected your SME is and interactive their posts are. Ideally, their posts attract a reasonable # of readers and comments.
3. Have you ever managed a community? While managing a community isn’t a prerequisite for a SME, it does give them a well-rounded perspective to guide you through the various options in social media and community.
4. When did you get started in community/social media? Years of service isn’t everything, but you can quickly get a sense if your SME is new to the game. Depending on your risk profile, you may not want them to learn on your dime.
5. Should I have a blog? This is a bit of a trick question. Your SME might answer “yes” because it seems like the right answer, but not everyone should have a blog. It really depends on what your goals are and whether you’re committed to the writing process.
The cool photo at the top of this post is from mpilote’s Flickr photostream. It makes me want to take a sick day and head north for some riding.
Additional questions from you…
6. Why are you positioning yourself as only knowing one facet of business/communications? (from Jennifer Leggio via Twitter)
7. How long have you been on Twitter and how do you use it? If they say to sell things, then don’t talk to them further. (from Jason Peck)
8. Who have you worked with in the past? Were they successful? (from Sean Bohan)
9. Do you have an “war stories” from your past clients? (from Sean Bohan)
10. What tools do you use regularly? (from Alex Jones)
11. What tools have you seen or used that didn’t quite make it and why do you think it happened? (from Alex Jones)
12. What are the top 5 social sites you would say are essential to know about in social media? (from Eric Mertz via Twitter)
February 5, 2009
Jim Storer
Leave a reply
13 responses to “Five Questions to Ask a Social Media Expert”
Mark Cahill
February 5th, 2009 at 13:08
Number of comments isn’t a real indicator, as many are “me too” or low value. Heck, if you counted the comment spam…
Relevent comments are the key.
I’d say that community management is of utter importance – without a couple of years as an admin or at least as a moderator, you have no idea what community is really about. Theory is great, but actual practice is better.
Of course, I do communities, so I would value them above all…I guess it comes down to what you want an expert for…
@JeanAnnVK
February 5th, 2009 at 13:12
I hate to say it, but I disagree with the comments and should you have a blog questions.
Lack of comments on a blog are not necessarily an indication of lack of community. With more people building out serious networks on various SM sites, the conversation often takes place in a much more timely fashion on these other platforms. I mean, why leave a comment when you can respond to a tweet, leave a message on the Facebook ticker or Plurk a whole thread about it?
And, I happen to think most all businesses benefit from a blog…partly for SEO. Clearly, if a biz owner doesn’t have time to write it and can’t commit to even a post a week, then it is a no go. But, I think the blog continues to be a very useful tool that SM ‘expert” types like to downgrade because it is fashionable to do so.
I think the only way to know if someone is truly able to provide you with quality services is to interview them. Read their blog(s), then call them up and ask questions. Ask them to give you some on the spot feedback or ask for references.
It is tricky right now because there is no accrediting process for social media marketers…but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any SMM’s out there who do a great job.
Jason Peck
February 5th, 2009 at 13:14
Another question would be:
-How long have you been on Twitter and how do you use it? If they say to sell things, then don’t talk to them further.
I’m not sure how I feel about #2. I think many people who are actually knowledgeable about social media spend more of their time helping clients than blogging, so they may not have as many comments on their blog as someone who just blogs but doesn’t really do anything else.
I think asking who they’ve worked with and what they’ve done is more important.
jstorerj
February 5th, 2009 at 13:14
Mark – Right on re: the value of relevant comments. You can quickly get a sense of the quality of the conversations on someone’s blog by looking at a few posts. Hopefully, they’re blocking the spam and adding value with their comments back to the blog. I grew out of community management, so I agree with you there too… but it does really depend on the goals of the organization hiring the SME whether they place much value on that experience. Thanks for the comment!
marc meyer
February 5th, 2009 at 13:17
First, though I don’t claim to be one, I am a practitioner, or maybe an implementer of social media is a better term? But As I read the list I was glad to see that I could answer in the affirmative on all of them, FWIW.
With that being said, I agree with Mark that sometimes volume of comments can be trumped by quality regardless of that amount. Sadly, sometimes your traffic can be predicated on the link juiciness of your title. I have had great posts that were read by a lot of people but few commented. Which is ok. I’m as guilty as anyone of hit and run blog reading. Good post Jim.
Sean Bohan
February 5th, 2009 at 13:23
Great post (and it is becoming a popular topic these days)
I would add:
Who have you done it for?
Successfully?
URLs and references
War Stories (this is huge for me)
Knowing the theory, being engaged, having dozens of profiles on dozens of sites is great, but expert is a tag of experience. And if we are valuing the Social in these things, references and referrals and raves should be part of that equation.
Alex Jones (@BaldMan)
February 5th, 2009 at 13:23
Mark’s points about community are key – social media experts have to understand how communities work at their core. What sways a group of like-minded folks? How do they act and interact on the site and with the tools available? What are the danger signs that a community is going to fail? What are the encouraging signs that a community is blooming? Who are your superstars, able to step up and help the community and who are your trolls, attempting to tear it down from the inside?
Next up, you need experience moving that community down a desired path, if you plan to be an “expert” who can add value to a business. How do you encourage a community to take an action? What can you learn from a community to ensure that the plan you set is logical and will be successful?
Beyond the communities aspect, I would ask a few other questions:
* What tools do you use regularly?
* What tools have you seen or used that didn’t quite make it and why do you think it happened?
Also, I’d ask about their familiarity with the breadth of tools. Knowing FaceBook inside and out and being a paragon of Twitter-posting only goes so far. Are they aware of the range of platforms and tools available, from the free tools like FB, Flickr and Twitter, through services like Ning and self-hosted blogs up to and including enterprise-level services for brands, publishers and the like. They have different purposes, different clients and different benefits for both the community and the customer.
Too many “experts” are really good at using one or two tools and talking themselves up, but fall flat when you step outside those zones.
Good post Jim, I always enjoy hearing people’s take on the matters of “Expertise” and those who label themselves gurus within an industry or community.
Stephen Dill
February 5th, 2009 at 14:21
Jim, while I admire the ideals being inferred by your 5 questions, I agree with Jason – deep knowledge of the subject does not a blogger make. Just as not being prolific does not imply an inability to write, not having lots of comments does not imply the person has nothing to say or is not saying it well, or, for that matter, that no one is reading it.
At a fundamental level I question whether the answers to a few questions would really identify whether the person you are talking to is an expert, much less THE expert you need. Such simple criteria may in fact trivialize the selection process, inviting prospects to conduct ten interviews over the phone in an hour or sending emails to 25 candidates and ask them to mail back their responses.
As social media becomes more common in marketer’s toolkits there will be more ‘flavors’ of expertise. While there may be more people who meet this rather stringent criteria, it will also inadvertantly eliminate many capable candidates who could still be the best answer to any one prospect’s needs.
Thanks for making me think about this topic!
Jim Storer
February 5th, 2009 at 15:04
@jeanann – good point that conversations can happen outside of the blog comments. my point there is that comments are a good indicator of a conversation, but they certainly aren’t the only one. i’d just encourage companies to make sure their social media expert isn’t just interested in hearing themself talk – they actually encourage conversation.
@jason – great question… added it above.
@marc – thanks for stopping in and taking the time to leave a comment!
@sean – added your questions to the list. i love the “war stories” question. we all have them right?
@alex – great comment. you really outlined how having community management experience benefits the social media strategist. the only reason i’d say community experience isn’t always necessary is if a company isn’t in the process of building a “community” per se. they may just want to have a group of active bloggers to open up a dialogue with prospects and customers. while understanding community dynamics will be helpful there, it’s not essential. added two of your questions. thanks for stopping by.
@stephen right on! i didn’t mean to say these five questions were meant to be the only five you should ask. i was trying to tee it up for others to challenge the ones i came up with and offer more to the mix. so far so good. imho, Jennifer Leggio’s question (via Twitter and now #6 above) really hits the mark. your SME needs to understand how social media maps to and integrates with other business processes (customer service and marketing come to mind) or all their social media expertise will be for naught.
derekshowerman
February 7th, 2009 at 07:51
Jim-great post. I brought up the top five sites, tools & war stories with a client I am working with. They didn’t have answers to all 3 three. But they have a blog and are launching a customer facing comming project on Monday & have already signed with a platform provider. I suppose that is why they hired me to be involved. Alas-I would be interested in your thoughts on how you would respond if the blogger/client cant answer those questions. Might be a blog for another day?
Layla Sabourian
February 11th, 2009 at 13:52
Hi Everyone: Jim, great post. I am an online community manager who is now seeking opportunities as a Social Media Manager. When I went down the list, I was happy that I could answer yes to most of the questions. I Just have a few additional questions to ask and would be really grateful to hear your responses:
1. How many comments should a blog entry have in average to be considered ‘well read/?
2. If you don’t really like to use Twitter for sharing personal things, and are not currently employed to twitt about work related stuff, what should you answer to the interviewer when they ask how many followers you have or how often do you twitt? Is it ok to respond, I don’t currently use it.
3.I often get asked, “What are some Community Tools you could not live without”, and I have a hard time answering this because it really depends on which community I am managing. For instance when I was at eBay, I saw a real value for a testimonial tool, but that was not so key at the Logitech community. I am never sure what would be the right answer and what are the tools that are universally crucial regardless of the nature of the community.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts
Michael Leis
February 24th, 2009 at 20:55
Just stumbled onto this great post, and thought to add another question:
What were you working on two years ago? Eight years ago?
I find the people best equipped to lead social media efforts have seen the trends and fads come and go. Maybe this is part of your “been through the wars” idea, but worth asking.
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March 7th, 2009 at 22:18
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