consultant

Should You Hire a Social Media Consultant?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 2 Comments Tags: ,

A few months ago, Peter Shankman ruffled the social media world with a blog post that proclaimed: “I Will Never Hire a “Social Media Expert and Neither Should You”.

Needless to say, it caused a stir and generated more than 400 comments, which was not surprising given his post featured provocative paragraphs like this one:

“No business in the world should want a “Social Media Expert” on their team. They shouldn’t want a guru, rock-star, or savant, either. If you have a “Social Media Expert” on your payroll, you’re wasting your money.”

As someone who offers social media consulting services, Shankman’s post hit close to home and, after much thought, I’ve come to the conclusion he’s right and wrong. Yes, it’s a Switzerland-like assessment but hear me out.

In Shankman’s support, one of the biggest dangers in hiring a social media consultant is they’re focused and specialized on a particular niche. The problem is that creating a social media strategic plan means having knowledge and insight into all the areas that will have an impact on social media – sales, marketing and communications.

It is impossible to put together a social media plan with any shot of being successful if a holistic view of the corporate landscape isn’t taken. To simply focus on social media tactics is disaster because it doesn’t take into account the key elements of a company’s operations.

This is the mistake many companies make when they hire a social media consultant. They bring on someone who knows the tactics and mechanics of blogs, Twitter and Facebook inside out. But they’re not hiring someone who understands the big picture strategic goals, and how social media can support and complement them. As a result, your Twitter account may be well-run but it doesn’t matter if it’s not driving well-defined corporate goals.

For many clients, the most value I bring to social media consulting assignments is an appreciation of how businesses operate, an interest in what they want to achieve with social media, and a focus on creating great story that can be delivered via social media.

While tactical execution is important, tactics are more blocking and tackling that can only happen if a strategic plan has been put in place.

If you are going to hire a social media consultant, make sure they can bring more to the table than just in-depth knowledge of the tools. It is important they have the ability and insight to understand your business and your goals for social media. If they can then help you with tactical execution, that’s a bonus.

Six Questions to Ask a Social Media Consultant

By Mark Evans in Social Media 3 Comments Tags: , ,

With social media emerging as more of a mainstream corporate activity, there is not surprisingly plenty of demand for social media consultants to provide strategic and tactical insight and counsel.

In a recent blog post, Chris Kleff outlined nine different criteria to evaluate a social media “expert”. While the list offers some good ideas, there is too much focus on numbers as opposed to critical thinking.

For example, Kleff suggests a social media experts need more than 1,000 Facebook friends, a Klout score of more than 30, more than 500 connections on LinkedIn, and more than 2,010 Twitter followers.

To me, these metrics are secondary considerations when evaluating a social media consultant. All they do is confirm someone is walking the walk as well as talking the talk. Simply because someone has a large social media presence doesn’t mean they offer good strategic and tactical advice; it just means they’re active and engaged.

So if numbers don’t provide a good way to judge a social media consultant, how should companies do it? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Ask for real-world examples of how the consultant has provided social media services to clients, and the results of this work. It could be the size of a company’s social media footprint, the traffic it attracted, or the number of leads or sales. Look for tangible metrics to put the spotlight on their success. It also helps to ask for references.

2. Ask for insight into their approach and methodology to social media assignments or projects. Are they just providing tactical services, or does the consultant also focus on strategic and big-picture issues? How do they manage their assignments and projects? What are the deliverables?

If it’s only tactical services, it may be enough to get a company’s social media efforts jump-started if there is already a plan in place. If a company is starting from scratch, it is important to hire a consultant who can offer strategic and tactical services.

3. Look for someone who can deliver perspective about other areas such as communications, marketing or sales. Given social media doesn’t operate in a silo, it is important to work with someone who understands how different parts of a company’s operations can be aligned with social media from a strategic and tactical basis.

4. Look for someone who has knowledge of the world beyond YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and a blog. Try to get more insight into the social media services are emerging, and how they could be part of a long-term roadmap, as well as any niche services that a company could exploit. Challenge a consultant on why only the largest social media services should be embraced.

5. Get a handle on how a consultant’s connections and network. This will provide insight into how they could attract other kinds of services beyond social media. What often happens during a social media project is other needs emerge. It could be the need for a refreshed Web site, better messaging or blogger/media outreach. A good social media consultant will recognize these needs, and offer people or organizations who can help.

6. Finally, review a consultant’s social media presence but do so by looking beyond the numbers. On Twitter, for example, look at the kind of tweets they do. Are they informative and valuable, or inane and silly. If a consultant has a blog, what kind of insight and intelligence do they offer? Check out whether the consultant has a Facebook Page or a Facebook profile, as well as what kind of updates they provide. On LinkedIn, who are their connections, and what are the common connections that you share with the consultant.

These considerations should provide solid information about whether a social media consultant can provide good and valuable service. By just looking at the numbers of followers, connections or Likes, you’re really just getting a picture of how well and/or how frequently someone uses social media services.

(Note: This post originally ran on the Sysomos blog. To be transparent, I offer social media consulting services.)

Six Tips on Hiring a Social Media Consultant

By Mark Evans in Social Media 7 Comments Tags: , ,

For many companies exploring the idea of social media or taking the plunge into social media, it often makes sense to seek external help. One of the options is hiring a social media consultant, which is no easy task given the number of people who have hung up a shingle recently.

So what should you look for in a social media consultant to ensure the money being spent is well spent? Here are some tips:

1. Communications expertise or experience. As much as social media gets a lot of attention because of the tools involved, it’s a communications medium driven by good content. This makes it important to hire a consultant who understands how to create, pitch and deliver stories to a variety of audiences.

2. Avoid social media “enthusiasts” who call themselves “consultants”: There are too many people who are really into blogging, Facebook or Twitter that decide they can charge for their “expertise”. While they may know how to use social media services, it is a completely different set of skills to counsel companies on how to best to get into social media, the most relevant tools, best practices and how to successfully create social media campaigns.

3. Experience matters. Look for consultants who have a track record. Ask them for examples of campaigns and projects they created, as well as the success their clients have had. It is still early days for social media but enough time has passed that a solid consultant should have some solid real-world experience under their belts.

4. Look for someone with a strong social media presence: It’s one thing to talk the talk but a consultant should also walk the walk. They should have an active and engaged presence on social media – be a blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Tumblr or Flickr. It show that they not only use the tools but you can get a sense of who they are and their stature within the social media community. It is always a head scratcher to find a social media consultant who barely uses social media. If you’re not immersed in social media on a regular basis, it is easy to lose track of how the market and the services are evolving.

At the same time, be cautious about people who talk about how many followers they have on Twitter or friends on Facebook as a sign of their social media expertise. Quantity in social media can be a game that can be manipulated.

5. If possible, find someone who has managed or operated a corporate social media program. This offers insight and experience that can be invaluable when creating strategic and tactical plans because it provides a consultant with a tangible sense of what’s involved in making social media happen. It is like hiring a major league baseball manager; it’s better to hire someone who has played professional baseball as opposed to have only coached.

6. Ask a potential consultant what they see on the social media horizon. Although it is difficult to really tell the next hot thing in social media, someone who knows the landscape should be able to offer some perspective about the trends and issues a company should be aware of. This will help make sure any strategic roadmaps take into account the evolving social media landscape.

Disclosure: Part of my business is social media consulting so apologies in advance if this post comes across as self-serving. The points above are things I think are important, regardless of whether people hire me or someone else.

What’s a Social Media Consultant?

By Mark Evans in Social Media 8 Comments Tags: ,

Given how much time I’m spending with clients exploring social media, this LinkedIn discussion caught my attention:

“For the people who are or claim to be Social Media Consultants/Gurus, why would people want to hire you? What differentiates you from others. What have you done to get this title? For those who truly are Social Media Gurus hopefully this will make you stand out. Tired of seeing all these social media consultants pop up.”

It’s an interesting topic because there are so many social media consultants (including myself). The challenge for many companies is figuring out what this means given anyone can hang up a shingle. At the risk of peeing in the pool in which I swim, many “social media consultants” are people armed only with a Twitter account and a blog.

But at this stage in the market’s evolution, they’re more knowledgable than most people so it is easy to establish themselves as professionals even though this knowledge might be an inch deep and a mile wide. This is not to suggest they don’t have good intentions or do solid work but their credentials and training may be limited.

So what should companies be seeking in a social media consultant?

To start, a social media consultant must have an in-depth knowledge of the different services, how to use them effectively, and other tools that make doing social media more productive and efficient.

A social media consultant should also have a solid background in communications given content is such a key part in making social media work well. The reality is services such as Twitter and Facebook are just tools to distribute stories in new and different ways. Without good stories, it’s like trying to drive a car without gas.

Another important consideration is having a good understanding of how businesses operate because social media needs to be integrated into a company’s operations as opposed to being a standalone activity.

The knowledge of how social media fits into the overall strategic landscape makes it easier to create strategic and tactical plans on how it should be used. This is particularly relevant given the growing focus on ROI as companies look to justify their spending on social media.

Finally, social media consultants should be good at sales but honest about what clients should be doing. While social media continues to attract a lot of hype, there are many companies cautious about climbing on the bandwagon, even though it makes sense to do so.

As a result, social media consultants often need to educate companies about the opportunities, and why social media has so much potential. At the same time, they should also be willing to tell clients that adopting a walk before you run approach or not doing social media at all makes sense even if it means a smaller consulting fee.

What kind of skills or attributes do you think a social media consultant should have?

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