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Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants
Posted on November 2nd, 2009 by and currently 55 commenting.You can’t swing a tweet these days without hitting a social media consultant. Those kids are EVERYwhere. You can usually find them traveling in packs and holding events where they talk to one another and tell each other how great they are. Good times. Good times.
But you know what? If you listen REALLY closely to their advice, you start to realize that most of it you already know. Because you have all the basic tools you need: Your humanity. Your ability to communicate with people around you. And your intuition. Because when you think about it, using social media is just a natural extension of yourself. Asking questions. Listening. Responding. And remember, social media apps are tactics. And tactics are tools. Sure, you might need some guidance on how to use that bandsaw, but you picked up a hammer and pretty much got the gist after you hit your thumb a few times.
In other words, we’re getting all worked up about (wait for it, wait for it) common sense. Common courtesy. And the best way to find that is to take off your marketing hat and use the hat you were born with - being a person.
It really seems to me that the social media folks that are blazing the trails out there and actually DOING something are the ones that are inside of companies. And why are folks like Scott Monty of Ford being celebrated? Because they do what comes (humanly) naturally. It’s not rocket science, people - but it does take a lot of elbow grease. And trial and error is not a bad way to figure things out.
Look, SM consultants have their place. But before you start your search and spend your money, do a gut check and some research. Realize that nobody has this thing all figured out. We’re all in social media grad school right now. And you’re probably just about as well equipped as anyone out there.
Let the flaming by the SM counsultants begin.
Tags: SM, SM consultant, Social media, social media consultant, you don't need social media consultants
55 Responses to “Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants”
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Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants [link to post] -
The problem is it’s easy for people who use social media to see how to make it work.
I am baffled by some of the companies I talk to who seriously don’t get it. I tell them stuff that to me, should be obvious. Sometimes I feel guilty charging them for giving away such basic information. But at the end of the day, the reason I have a job doing this type of consulting is because not everyone gets, “oh, just be human.”
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Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants [link to post]
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Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants [link to post] #socialmedia #news -
Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants [link to post] #news #socialmedia -
Great article. The only thing you failed to mention is the SME’s office of choice is usually the local Panera Bread Company.
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Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants [link to post] #sCRM #PR #marketing -
Another spark of brilliance from Spike at Brains on Fire - Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants: [link to post] -
I resemble that remark.
I agree 50%. Indeed, “being” social is a hell of a lot more important than “acting” social. And that requires real people, with real humanity, and day-by-day interactions with customers and prospective customers.
But figuring out how companies can move from a non-social footing to a place where they embrace social as a fundamental premise of how they interact with customers, not just some marketing tactic, is not always viable without outside help.
Employees may indeed have the skill, and the desire, and the know-how to develop amazing social media programs that are sustainable and honest and impactful. But, employees also have baggage. And internal inertia. And a whole slew of other impediments that can get in the way, even when everyone knows it’s the right approach.
Someone in every company understands accounting, yet tax consultants are used every day. We know what’s right, and what’s wrong. But that hasn’t stopped the legal profession from existing. Same thing with CRM consultants, email consultants, SEO consultants, graphic designers, branding agencies, PR practitioners, and just about every single professional service ever devised.
What social media consultants do best - at least those focused on tactical agnosticism - is to help companies connect the dots, align internal resources, and understand not that social media is about more than tools and pressing buttons, but about a cultural shift that manifests itself up and down the organization.
I agree that we’re still in the very early days of social media, but I’ll argue that’s why companies need some outside counsel and a sounding board. When I’m sick, I know it. But I still go to the doctor.
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As usual I emphatically agree. Sometimes its like you take the words right out of my mouth.
Buzzwords like guru, expert and genius make me want to cry. They make it sound like there is some mythical trick that only some select people have access to.
Everyone should be an expert if they truly know their organization. Know yourself, and you have what you need to have an impact.
The social media people are not obsolete, however, because of the considerable amount of time you need to dedicate. There are no tricks, but someone has to do the leg work.
Kudos Spike.
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It’s the double-edged sword of consultancy - on one hand they (we) very often regurgitate stuff that people in the business already know; on the other hand sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed to get things moving; on the other, other hand some consultants are freaks with three hands.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
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Monica, point taken. I guess we all can’t take off our marketing hats so easily sometimes.
Jay - Love the tax/accounting metaphor. I guess I can’t find many SM consultants that are actually DOING anything worth talking about (present company excluded). Thanks for stopping by.
Andrew - You’re too kind.
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“Let the flaming by the SM counsultants begin. ”
And there ya go.
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I’m with Jay! The tax consultant and lawyer comparisons are spot on. You can do your own taxes, if you dare. And you can represent yourself in court, if you don’t care about the outcome. You also can hike the Grand Canyon without a guide. But why would you?
Because of confidentiality agreements, I can’t detail the many ways - before they hired me - my clients have wasted tens of thousands of dollars on social media campaigns because their inside teams didn’t know some very basic tenets. But i can guarantee that my clients aren’t the only ones with those issues.
Where I agree with you is that there are so few people out here who actually have case studies from real clients to prove their worth. That’s what separates the wheat from the chaff.
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@jaybaer your comments on @spikejones post is spot on. personally, i prefer to use an accountant. :>) [link to post] -
Ah yes. But see, this is the age old argument about consultants of most any stripe, especially the “change management” ones or the “leadership coaching” ones. Some of the stuff we know, inherently, but we lack the stones to a) execute on it without someone else’s reassurance that we’re on the right track or b) we don’t have the resources to map it out ourselves so it’s better to pay someone for the road map.
My issue with the SM consultant sphere is the focus on tactics. And even the ones that rage against focusing on tools can be seen framing out a Twitter strategy instead of focusing on a *business* strategy that happens to employ some social media tools.
The fundamental flaw in social media consulting is that, by its nature, it’s tactically focused. Instead, what we need are consultants that can identify business mindset and communication challenges, outline tactic-agnostic solutions (h/t Jay Baer) and THEN consider what and whether social media tools are an appropriate way to accomplish that. It’s not social media we need instruction on so much as how to move our businesses from a closed ecosystem to one that puts open communication and customer experience at the forefront. I can count on one hand the folks I’d trust to do that well.
Good discussion. I think there’s a strong place for the *right* kinds of consultants that have social media expertise. But it’s one tool in the kit, not the solution in itself.
Amber
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Speaking from the other side - as someone from a company who might one day hire a social media consultant (no, no, don’t call me).
Sometimes we use external consultants to reinforce and validate what we already know in order to convince people higher up.
Sad but true.
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“The problem is it’s easy for people who use social media to see how to make it work.”
Monica I was on the phone yesterday with a client, and we were discussing their newly-launched blog, and I was making suggestions for what sites could go on their blogroll and they asked ‘Ok back up, you said ‘blogroll’, what is that?’
It’s way too easy to forget that many cos are VERY new to this space, and need direction. Or in many cases, they WANT to use social media, but don’t want to do any of it.
There’s an absolute and definite need for qualified social media consultants that can help companies get their efforts up and running. Some companies need/want to be taught how to use these tools to connect with customers, other companies know they need to be using social media, but want to outsource their efforts.
The question I have is, why do we keep focusing on what some SM consultants are doing or what we THINK they are doing? Seriously, almost none of my clients have ever heard of Brogan or Falls or Beth Harte, or ME, prior to contacting me. They don’t get caught up in the soap operas that we in the fishbowl seem to love.
Are there going to be some snakeoil salesmen out there that will say they are SM consultants and literally steal money from companies by selling them on services they don’t need, or that are poorly positioned? Of course, I’m dealing with a company right now that’s dealing with the aftermath of being sold a load of crap.
But at the end of the day, I can either gripe about the bad apples, or keep trying to do good work for more companies. I’d rather keep working.
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Good discussion started by @spikejones “Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants” [link to post] (I humbly disagree) -
jaybaerRt @jaybaer started by @spikejones “Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants” [link to post] (?)
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I started to write a response and then read Jay’s comment…so no need to repeat it.
Spike - Good post. Social Media consultants, like any other industry consultant, need to show they are worth the $$ by implementing strategies that provide real value to the client.
I also think there is an inherrant stigma to the word ‘consultant’.
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Sure, there are SM experts, people like Jay (who walk the walk). I don’t profess to be an “expert”. I’m a marketer and PR professional by trade with a firm that is helping its clients integrate social media into their organizations and marketing outreach. The difference is we tell our clients that same thing that heavy hitters like you and Jay preach: Strategy first, stuff (including SM shiny tools) second.
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Jenn Whinnem November 3rd, 2009 at 10:07 am
Great post, Spike. I think a lot of the small business owners I talk to would find it reassuring to know that they can, ultimately, “get it” without having to spend money on an SM consultant.
I definitely have to agree with Marc Collier - so often when I’ve talked to these small business owners, they barely grasp the terminology, never mind the technology. One person I’ve worked with extensively really cannot get his head around the idea of the RT (yes, I’ve made the analogy to e-mail forwarding) on Twitter - and that’s just an example. Maybe I’m outing myself as a bad SM teacher, but I’m willing to take the risk to make the point!
To use social media effectively, people either need to invest the time to learn it, really immerse themselves, or to invest the dollars to hire the knowledge. And isn’t that always the argument with having the knowledge in or out of house?
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The problem isn’t with Social Media Consultants specifically but with Consultants generally (Ed mentioned it above. Oh, so did Amber). For years some / many consultants have given the profession a bad name (I think the big 4 - or however many there are now - are the biggest culprits) by delivering very little real value. Actually, not to widen the scope too ridiculously, but it is a problem with entire human race. Some people are great, helpful, talented, generous, etc. And others are greedy, lazy, unhelpful and full of shit.
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“Social Media is a tactic. A tool. Blaze trails by DOING.” Find a practitioner, not a consultant. [link to post] (via @spikejones) -
Consultants – do we need them? | Eric D. Brown - Technology, Strategy, People, Projects November 3rd, 2009 at 3:55 pm
[...] to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.I ran across an interesting post today titled “Why you don’t need Social Media Consultants” on the Brains on Fire Blog. The main thesis of the post is: “social media consultants [...]
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@spikejones but the real question is, do I need a social media copywriter?
[link to post] -
I think we’re on the same page. Mostly. As usual, I might tweak the semantics just a bit in a second. I want to agree with you but I have a couple of reservations.
First, I generally agree with the sentiment of the post: This social media guru bull$h*t is completely out of control. It’s getting in the way of real discussions about how to properly use and integrate social media into an organization’s bag of tricks. It isn’t enough that everyone and their brother is a social media consultant these days, now we have to endure an endless stream of social media conferences at a rate of what… one a week now? Seriously? Like we need a twitter conference in every city now? WTF.
I promise you this isn’t a plug for my blog, but I just wrote a post in regards to the pernicious rise of Social Media conferences whose sole purpose (aside from generating money for their organizers) is to give would-be social media consultants a platform from which to present someone else’s content to the next batch of would-be social media consultants. Total fail. And people pay serious bank to attend these things and hear the same crap from the same people week after week after week. You might actually like it.
That said, I routinely run into pretty solid people who may appear to be social media consultants to outsiders because… well, they work with social media and occasionally talk about social media, even present at social media conferences, but really aren’t social media consultants at all. You guys, for example. I run into you at social media events. You speak. You present. In a way, you have contributed to the hype bubble the same way every other SM conference speaker has, myself included. Yet you aren’t social media consultants. And neither am I. But to many, it might seem that we are exactly that: Social Media consultants.
So… all this to say that the term “social media consultant” isn’t always as clear a term as you may think. Or as ugly a term as you imply at the beginning of this post. In truth, the field is much more complex than that, as are consulting roles that touch it.
Second, in terms of “doing,” I also have to throw in a word of caution. I see a good number of Social Media managers and directors out there who are technically “doing”. They work for legitimate companies, some of which are Fortune 100s. They have pretty business cards that state their Social Media awesomeness in its full Helvetica glory. Their PR firms craft pretty solid papers they sell to their bosses and stakeholders as “case studies.” They really seem to be “doing” stuff. But the reality is that many of them aren’t doing a whole lot. They’re just making noise, riding on the relative ignorance of their employers, leveraging good PR and setting themselves up for their next gig. (I’m obviously not a fan.)
On the flip side, I see a growing number of individuals who impact organizations’ ability to develop, integrate, manage and measure social media programs from the outside. Technically, they aren’t doing anything aside from teaching, training, mentoring and guiding companies whose SM-touching teams aren’t completely functional yet. Sure, it may not seem like they’re doing much compared to say, a rock star community manager, but trust me, that kind of work is hard, indispensable and not to be overlooked. Just because a consultant works in the shadows doesn’t mean s/he is any less important or legit than the community manager whose role is in the spotlight 24/7. To discount these “consultants” because they don’t seem to be “doing” something recognizable is a bit naive. Sure, community engagement is an inside job that can’t be properly outsourced, but there’s more to social media “jobs” than engagement and community outreach. Some SM practitioners specialize in strategy, others in integration and others still in measurement, monitoring, and data analysis. You have to look at the broader picture. As large organizations adopt Social Media and integrate it at every level and type of function, so does the breadth of roles and (dare I say it) specialization that touch it.
Lastly:
“Before you start your search and spend your money, do a gut check and some research.”
Agreed.“Realize that nobody has this thing all figured out. We’re all in social media grad school right now.”
Actually, a few people have this thing pretty much figured out. I know it may seem difficult to accept, but… well, dare to believe.“And you’re probably just about as well equipped as anyone out there.”
Not sure about that one. To do what? To engage customers on Twitter? To manage a community? To integrate social media into your company’s customer service infrastructure? To develop social media guidelines for your company? See where I am going with this? From the outside, it may seem like Social Media is simple. And in a way, it is. It’s just a way for people to reach out to other people. But when you start plugging it into a business, that simplicity flies out the window pretty quickly.Like it or not, the business world needs people who know how to build, integrate, manage and measure social media programs. The problem isn’t with the “consultants” who can actually deliver on this need, but rather on the scores of so-called experts who claim to but don’t. Let’s not batch everyone together just yet.
Good post, Spike.
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He’s a firestarter all right. @spikejones is getting the social media “experts” all riled up. Wait for it…..flame on: [link to post] -
I agree with Amber and at least 75 percent of Jay’s 50. I’m one of those intrepid fools trying to work this thing from the inside out, and for any number of reasons (not the least of which, doubtless, is my own lack of skills) it ain’t easy.
The problem, as Amber points out, isn’t the tools. Or the “be human” philosophy that underlies or is purported to underlie the social space. It’s that established corporate cultures aren’t wired to be enterprise 2.0, or social businesses, or P2P (shout out to Olivier Blanchard for this one), or whatever. As with any remodeling project, you can do the rewiring yourself, maybe have some fun, and accept the consequences. Or you can find a specialist. The best ones may even let you help.
Of course, precious few of those specialists actually populate the social media gaggle. And that’s no knock (or at least a limited knock) on those renting their services. Most of the ones I’m connected with know what they know, often much better than I know what they know, and they’ll tell you what they don’t. But this is new, very exciting new, stuff. The paradigm is still emerging. And I think those of us who are trying to get in the game, inside or outside the enterprise 1.0 firewall, need all the help we can get.
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I realize this article is probably talking about corporate organizations, rather than small businesses, but I’ll throw my thoughts in anyway.
I work with small businesses and it’s common that they don’t have the time or resources in house to try to figure out how to use social media to their advantage in house.
The 2 major challenges they face are:
1. A lack of understanding on how to use technology. This block means that they stumble and fumble with the tool itself and often don’t get far enough past it (or even get started) to figure out that it’s all just about communication and building relationships.
2. A lack of understanding about how to market themselves effectively. A lot of small businesses (and let’s face it, larger businesses too) market themselves ineffectively because they are trying to sell rather than build relationships. If they have used the internet in any way, because of this focus on their products and services, they did see good results.
Ultimately, companies with enough resources would benefit from putting together a Taskforce in house and capitalizing on the intellectual capital they already possess - and for many companies that is totally under utilized - larger companies could probably boast having a lot of hobbyists that are photographers, bloggers or social media enthusiasts who could play the role as a consultant.
However, in my many years in corporate environments, my experience was that often there was a lack of trust with employees - the company would often look externally for guidance rather than trusting the people they have inhouse, or there was a reluctance from management to add more responsibility from overly burdened teams. And with some companies it might just be a matter of lack of clarity to whose team this type of work would fall into - is it marketing? is it IT? is it someone else?
Ultimately, any company that hires a specialist consultant should be happy if the consultant performs and gives them results. In order to do that, they need to show a track record of success.
If you invest and it yields a greater return, then it’s been a good investment. Any company would be happy with that.
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Amber - “The fundamental flaw in social media consulting is that, by its nature, it’s tactically focused.” Agreed. It’s like hiring a hammer consultant instead of someone who can show up how to really utilize an entire workshop.
Mack - I think my problem is with the fishbowl itself. I’m generalizing, but SM consultants just love to hang out online with SM consultants so they can tell each other how great they are. I’m sure that’s a great ego booster, but it accomplishes nothing. The echo chamber is deafening. I really think the people that are actually DOING things that GET RESULTS are the ones that don’t participate in the SM lovefest that happens daily on - wait for it - SM.
Armano - I think you guys are good to go. Remember, I read your whitepaper!
Olivier - I read it (well, I didn’t have time to read all of it). And I agree. The problem is when it comes to those conferences, I find that people really want to hear from PRACTITIONERS about what they’ve done and how they’ve done it. And a lot of people don’t want to hear from the same 8 SM people - but how do you know if someone you’ve never heard of is doing something great? Before or after the conference? And let me take this opportunity as a WOMMA Board Member to plug the upcoming “Creating Talkable Brands” Conference by WOMMA in Vegas in two weeks. A whole bunch of incredible case studies. From people in the trenches doing the work - online AND offline. Check out womma.org for the details.
Let me be succinct in my other retorts:
I also agree about the term “consultant.” In my opinion, consultants talk and practitioners DO.When it comes to DOING. I mean doing and getting real results. Setting real goals and surpassing them.
If someone says that they have social media all figured out, then run. Run away. Fast and as far as your legs will carry you.
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PS - Is it any surprise to anyone else that the overwhelming majority of folks who commented are, um, social media consultants?
I’m just sayin’.
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Spike and all–interesting points to be sure. I consider myself more of a practioner than a consultant…but I get to offer advice and assistance from time to time, especially in government and higher education. The interesting thing is, any implementation of tactics and tools is so far down the list…the introductory goals generally include doing an audit of current practices, building relationships and listening internally and externally, and developing a strategic plan.
This all has to happen before changes are implemented…do you think the majority of “social media consultants” truly have the broad ability to help with detailed change management? Or are the majority of these consultants really best equipped to come in and offer advice only when these organizational shifts have occurred and the strategic plan and goals are ready to go?
Perhaps Olivier is right in a sense that we should be honest about our specializations…not everyone is a doer…and not everyone is a strategist.
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[link to post] -
That’s nice. Close by insulting “the overwhelming majority” of the people who took the time to comment on your post. Wonderful.
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Sorry, O. Didn’t mean to come across that way.
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Claudia November 4th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Well, yeah, I think you can figure it out on your own if you’re a good communicator and are good with people and work for an organization that empowers you to do the appropriate research and get the metrics you need. You also have to be able to see how your efforts fit in with the rest of what you’re for PR and marketing. Which, for some reason, people often have trouble with. So. If you’re willing to dedicate the in-house resources, go ahead and do it in-house. If you want to ramp up faster, get some external validation for best practices that your management is skeptical about or not ready to hear about, and get more insight into the various ways of looking at ROI, then it might be worth talking to someone, even if it’s a short-term engagement. I’m not a consultant (though I suppose I could be bought
). I’m one of those “doers” @thebrandbuilder is talking about, having “done” it while learning about it for a major multinational. I think I was pretty successful, which is why I’m saying it Spike is technically right in that it can be done. But if management is assigning someone internal to figure it out without clearing their plate, it’s a sign that management doesn’t get it. So the question of whether SM is that arcane–it’s not–or requires a strategy that can’t be managed or integrated by regular marketing folks–it doesn’t–isn’t really the question. The question is not Do you NEED a consultant, it’s Do YOU need a consultant? And if you do, choose wisely, that’s all.
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Hi Spike, I am NOT a social media consultant!
Well, I’m a communication consultant, which means that social media is a part of what I discuss with clients, but I make no claims to guru-ness whatsoever. Big props to Jaime Almond in re small business. I launched my business in April, and on the recommendations of friends like Katie Paine, jumped into blogging, and Twitter. My understanding of the nuts and bolts of blogging was and is pretty low, and it’s intimidating. I can only imagine the trials of a plumber as regards the Web and Everything.
Ideally, consultants would help clients think. That requires one part ability to teach, one part creativity, one part business understanding and one part genuine interest in the business and person with which one’s consulting. As a small business person, I’m of course attempting to use these new tools to market and sell, but I’m doing so by trying to give freely and build relationships over time. Perhaps I should have included ‘patience’ in my part-by-part requirements for effective consulting.
Any of us who are in IABC or PRSA (or the AAF, or AMA or WOMMA or whatever) are insiders. We know much more about communications tactics and tools than other people. So too for social media activists. Once we get outside our fishbowl, there is air not saturated by our SM molecules to produce SM water. You who are truly expert at creating value from social media need to measure it carefully, allow yourselves and your methods to be held up to scrutiny, and avoid the temptation to declare victory over other forms of communication based on thin, narrow or shallow evidence. That flies in the face of the real need to use whatever success you find to market yourself and your capabilities, let alone the need to retain genuine competitive advantage.
Thanks, Spike, for a thought-provoking post (and apologies for the nosebleed comment!)
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On a commenting jag today… via @BethHarte: Why You Don’t Nd SocMed Consult’s from @SpikeJones [link to post] (nd integr mktg help) -
Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants from @SpikeJones [link to post] (I think they need integrated mktg help more) Thoughts? -
Socmed req ongoing hard work. Consultants drive point home @BethHarte You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants [link to post] -
All I can say is, the dude who writes @shitmydadsays probably didn’t have much of a business plan going in, but he connected in a funny, engaging way. No tricks, just great content.
The businesses I follow all do one thing well, they become part of the conversation. And they add to it. They don’t try to make the conversation all about them or their business. To me, it really is just as simple as that.
Wait, am I now a social media guru? Score!
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Hahahaha!!! And I, sir, am NOT a social media consultant!! However, I’ve been put in the position of consulting on content strategy for one particular client. I consider myself a practitioner. I love the work of doing work, and would rather not pontificate. Kinda ruins the blend.
But, I am keeping tabs on this thread because there is so much truth here, on both sides. I see the need for external validation. I see the basic-ness of “just be yourself” and the validity of a plan that leads the way.
Keep stirring the pot, my friends.
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[...] been struggling with of late. The first was a post from Tuesday on Brains on Fire entitled Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants. I thought this summed it up nicely: Because you have all the basic tools you need: Your humanity. [...]
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I was pondering this post since my last reply.
I’m wondering why it matters whether companies hire a Social Media Consultant (Coach, Practitioner or whatever) to help them solve a problem?
With so many people are losing their jobs in a variety of industries (I myself decided to go into business for myself after my job was outsourced to Argentina), we should be applauding the entrepreneurial spirit of those who see an opportunity in the market place (by companies who feel like they need help no less) and offer a service that is in high demand.
As it’s already been highlighted here, social media is about building relationships, brand and quality content. The best way to do this is to get out of operations for long enough to be strategic, which when you face the challenges that come with operations, can be challenging. Having an outside perspective can really help.
As I mentioned, I think a lot of companies could take advantage of their in-house IP. I also think many companies don’t market themselves well anyway and with the change for traditional to new media are a little lost in the woods.
Sometimes it takes time to shift organizational directions and managerial mindset and the only thing that can do that can be an outsider.
At the end of the day, I don’t need a lot of the people that I give my money to for services rendered, but I do it because it makes my life and business easier. It stimulates the economy and lets me focus on what I love to do and what’s important to me.
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Cosmo,
I’m not sure @shitmydadsays is a corporate brand that needed to switch from traditional marketing to new media.
Funny, but not exactly the type of business that is being discussed here.
Jaime
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Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants: [link to post] -
For that matter do we really need market research? It seems like many decisions that cost a tremendous amount of money researching are just…common sense. I get the anti-SM consultant backlash given how hot social media has become, however I have to disagree wit hthe idea that SM consultants are not needed or useful. Simply because something is common sense doesn’t mean it’s easy to implement or have everyone wrap their head around. How do you tell a company that is very protective of their IP that they should just open up? How do you tell a company obsessed with their brand to “let go” a little and let their people engage in the social sphere? It all sounds obvious, because social networking is just an extension of networking…but there are consultants for networking too, isn’t networking advice just common sense?
I think there as much backlash around social media as there is hype. There are indeed plenty of snake oil salesmen out there but as with anything else there is also value to be found. If it was so obvious and so common sense there wouldn’t be market for SM consultants. The fact that there is means that companies need help and coaching. I agree with the taxes example and the same can be said for fixing basic computer errors or market research or customer service.
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Why You DON’T Need Social Media Consultants (via @brainsonfire) [link to post] -
“Is it any surprise to anyone else that the overwhelming majority of folks who commented are, um, social media consultants?
I’m just sayin’.”
Spike that’s kinda the point. I’ve seen basically this same post written 5,000 times in the last year. It ALWAYS gets a ton of comments. And yes, a lot of social media consultants always reply. And a lot of ‘amen!’ replies happen as well.
But at the end of the day, it’s still the fishbowl commenting on a fishbowl issue. How does that ultimately help companies? It doesn’t. It gets the writer a lot of comments and RTs, which, ironically, they normally rail against in the post itself.
I don’t read this blog to hear your opinions on the fishbowl. I read this blog to hear your wonderful ideas about sparking passion and igniting movements. THAT is the unique content that few others create and that is what hooks me in.
Anyone can bitch about how others are using social media, or how much time they are spending on Twitter. Again, this post is too easy.
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Whoa there, Mack. Easy, big fella.
I agree it’s the fishbowl commenting on the fishbowl. I’m not railing against anyone. I’m just trying to get people to reframe the conversation, that’s all.
I appreciate your view. No worries.
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[...] Spike Jones is my hero; we agree on a lot of things and we know we agree on a lot of things. He’s more prolific, I’m more lethargic. Whatev, I’m sure he wont mind if I take his post one step further and say that you don’t need social media. Period. [...]
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Social Media Consultation: Because Even Tiger Woods Has a Swing Coach November 13th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
[...] get a sense of deja vu when I read articles like Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants whose premise is that social media is such common sense that no one should pay for consultation [...]
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[...] and blog posts recently outlining the reasons you don’t need a social media consultant (ex. Why You Don’t Need Social Media Consultants). The crux of the argument is that social media all about common sense and courtesy, doing what [...]
