Is it bad to call yourself a social media expert? There sure seems to be a lot of anger about it. Hard to tell if the knee-jerk response to snort at a social media expert is honest derision, or a superstitious attempt to to ward off evil, the 21st century version of "There but for the grace of Google go I."
Given how big an area the definition of social media can cover, one can either throw up their hands and say it's not possible to be an expert, or one can accept that social media is a preference layer that has more to do with our target audiences than the discipline itself.
And make no mistake, social media is a discipline. It's not enough to call it a tool in a tool box. It's a skill set that is distinct from marketing, PR, and customer service. Do you know how we can tell? Experts with decades of experience in marketing, PR, customer service, and sales are often completely clueless when it comes to using social media to bring value.
If social media is as easy as taking a piece of bread out of a refrigerator, why do so many people foul it up on their own? Why are there so few true examples of social media success, if it's so easy?
It's because it's not easy, and we're not driving it. Social media is the public's way of learning. The mass communication and connectedness of our audiences is driving change that companies cannot keep up with, and they know it. It's simple math. There are more of them, than of us. Because there are more of them, they learn faster. So why do they need someone who is an "expert" in social media? it's the same reason they need a recruiter.
Here's a dirty little secret about the recruiting industry. We're not that much better than internal Human Resource departments. But we don't have to be. We just have to be a little better, a little faster, than internal departments. And we are, because we have structural advantages, from representing multiple clients to being sales-oriented to spending more time searching and calling candidates and less time on paperwork.
Some people hate recruiters, but the industry continues to do well, because the marketing of the industry says we're experts in hiring. Some of use are, some aren't, but the industry has a reputation of solving problems a little faster and with less hassle than internal departments (on average).
Do you know what you don't say as a recruiter to a client? You don't say, "I'm slightly better than your internal people." You say, "I'll do the job, with my massive database, and I'll be accountable solely to you because I'm an expert."
That's mostly true, but it's still marketing. We're marketing ourselves to sell our services, just like every other industry. Do you know what we call ourselves? Headhunters. Staffing experts. Talent acquisition experts. National Account Executives. It's title inflation, common to everyone from teachers (educators), to Senior Digital Communication Vice Presidents for Advertising and Messaging, International Markets.
Thus, the social media expert, or whatever they call themselves, from consultant, to strategist, to connector, to integrated marketers, to social business analyst, is engaging in a form of marketing called personal branding. Everyone does it. Everyone does it.
Calling yourself an expert in an area is an attempt to convey the idea that you are worth paying for your advice. It's a rookie move, when you can call yourself better terms like Digital Integrated Director, Social Business Communicator, but it's all the same. And mocking it is disingenuous.
There is no difference between calling yourself a "social media expert," and describing a product you sell as a "revolutionary step forward in household disinfectants." It's just marketing. We can complain about it, we can mock it, we can judge it, but let's not lie to ourselves that making fun of someone for marketing themselves is authentic criticism, if we ourselves do any form of marketing, or if others do it for us (so no ducking if your job is help desk. Someone markets your services for you).
We have nonsense titles in most companies. We have training programs that have little value to anyone not sorting resumes. We have college degrees for people who can't write or speak in public. We have Master's and Doctorate programs for 2nd grade teachers who now call themselves "educators," but whose children can't read when they leave the classroom. We all market, from fake hair and nails to car leases we can't afford in neighborhoods where are house payments are based on no interest loans.
Social Media Experts don't get special passes because of their titles, but do we really think they're horrible people? They tend to be small fish trying to sell (and often failing), but sometimes they are people who recognize that social media is sexy, and thus it gets attention. When attacking social media experts, why is there so much venom? Is it because we're mad about title inflation? Or is there something else?
