Sunday, May 02, 2010

The Social Media Expert is Dead

There is no such thing as a social media expert. Consider this as my fourth post on the 'Social Media Experts are Bullshit Artists' series. I believe when this blogger says that there will always be people who have used social media tools to build successful brands and online communities.

But, these guys won't shout from the roofs that they are experts. Because experts know better. Experts are humble people.

Four things that you must know:

1. Social media is new and always evolving: Online users ignore ads. Online users are fickle. They will move on to the next shiny social media toy in a jiffy.

2. There is no 'right way' to use social media:
If everyone is using the same 'proven' tools and tactics, where does that leave you?

3. What works for one business may not work for your business:
Dell have used Twitter to sell computers. This is not true for every business.

4. Online Community Building is hard:
It takes time, personal commitment towards passionate participants, and you must create original, useful content yourself. UGC is over-hyped. Basically, it means impacting lives of users in a positive way.

Soon, there is going to be shakeout in this 'Guru' field and only a handful will manage to learn, adapt and survive for the next hype cycle.

Other posts in this series

DIY Social Media: A Users' Guide

It is Paid Media, Not Social Media
Social Media Will Be Dead in 2009

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