Gary Vaynerchuk is a savvy social media practitioner and a tremendous self-marketer but he does offer pearls of wisdom about how social media is being used or how it should be used.

Case in point is his assertion during an interview with TechCrunch that ”99.5 percent of the people that walk around and say they are a social media expert or guru are clowns”.

Now, “clowns” is a strong word (although it’s certainly good for capturing attention and headline writing) but I think Vaynerchuk is suggesting there is a problem with people who are focused on social media tools as opposed to how social media fits into the bigger scheme of things.

These are lots of “experts” or “gurus” well-versed in using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.. This is great if you want tactical help but many of these people have little knowledge or expertise about how social media needs to be aligned with a company’s marketing and sales goals and objectives.

Truth be told, social media is just another channel. It’s not the best thing since sliced bread, it’s not rocket science or a silver bullet. It’s a new and different way to reach target audiences with tools that allow engagement and conversations. At the same time, social media has to support and/or enhance the other things a company is doing, otherwise embracing social media is a waste of time.

Since I started my consulting business, I’ve taken a pragmatic approach to social media. While many clients are excited about social media and want to jump on the bandwagon, I’m more interested in discovering why they want to use social media and what they’re doing with their other marketing and sales activities, including their digital presence.

In many cases, a company doesn’t need to embrace social media but, instead, should focus on overhauling its Web site given it’s my belief social media doesn’t work if your “digital hub” fails to meet the needs and expectations of existing and potential customers.

Another pre-social media need could be messaging and branding. A lot of companies are terrible at clearly articulating who they are and why anyone should about their products and services. If a company does a bad job of messaging/telling its story, its social media efforts will be a lot like spinning your wheels on ice. Lots of activity but you’re not going anywhere.

I think too many social media “experts” are so focused on getting companies to use the tools, they have no sense about the bigger picture. It means companies jump into social media but don’t get the results they’re seeking because there is no strategic alignment.

Social media can be a powerful medium but without a clear idea of how it supports everything else a company does (and visa versa), it can’t succeed – no matter what a social media “expert” or “guru” would have you believe.