Help save companies from themselves and get stuff at the same time.
I just had my first post go live on mashable.com, to the tune of “how to know if you should fire your social media consultant“.
I was a little nervous posting this, not because I wasn’t sure of the contents, but because I wasn’t sure who would take it personally, if anyone. So far, so good, though.
Thanks
Thanks to everyone for the kind words, and the comments. And most of all, thanks to Mashable for the shot at writing for them. Hoping this becomes a regular thing!
What’s Next
Now, on to the counter-post. It’s not my style to walk into a room, punch everyone in the face, and walk out. This first post was just that: a first post. I have a lot more ideas that I’m really stoked to put out there, here on dangerouslyawesome.com as well as on Mashable.
So the counter post that people seem to be interested in is, “how do you hire a social media consultant”? I’ve got some thoughts already, and have been kicking it around with some of my friends and mentors. But I’m curious what you have to say.
So I’m turning it into a contest. That’s right.
How to get cool stuff and save companies from themselves at the same time.
You see, a few weeks back, Samsung sent me and a few of other bloggers I know this T220 22″ monitor to give away any way we like. Ill be honest, I thought it was a scam. I asked what the strings attached were, and he said “We like your blog because it’s both tech-y, business-y, and personal. And on a personal note, I think you’re a great writer. ” You had me at “we like your blog”, Greg! Greg went on to assure me everything was cool, and low and behold, a slim box containing a very sexy-looking screen showed up behind my desk while I was on the road this month. I haven’t opened it to try it out, but that’s because I want to give it to you.
And by you, I mean the person who gives the best 5 tips for hiring a social media consultant in the comments of my blog. 5 tips, any way you want to serve them up. Text, video, whatever! I’ll sort through them with the same friends and mentors that reacted to my post, and pick what we think are the best. Not only do you then get the monitor, but I’ll credit you in a follow up post that I’ll be writing.
I’ll keep the comments open for up to 2 weeks, and then we’ll rock out.
How d’you like them apples?
When I read your post on Mashable, which I enjoyed, I kept thinking to myself that it would be great in the first place to have a social media consultant to fire. That’s why I’m so glad you’re encouraging this discussion here.
Of particular interest to me – if anyone who’s posting responses cares to address it – is how to get help with social media for projects that nobody is paying for (yet), like free open source software. It’s great if you have VC money or are established, but being part of an open-source project, all of my expenses for travel, promotion, and social media expertise comes out of pocket. As you might suspect, it’s difficult to gather interest for any potential funding without being already tied in tightly to social media, and it’s even more difficult to develop the project and be a social leader all at the same time.
My fundamental puzzle is over what it would take to get a consultant involved in FOSS, and whether that can be of mutual benefit to both the project and the consultant. Perhaps this is fodder for another article.
In any case, I’m interested in how this post pans out, and look forward to the responses, which are bound to be educational.
Finding the right social media consultant to work with can be a daunting task because our industry is currently filled with people who claim to know this, that, and the other about creating social media. Nevertheless, I believe there are some tried and true methods for finding consultants that can help companies achieve their goals from a social media standpoint. Here’s my take regarding the 5 things a company should look for when trying to hire a social media consultant: http://seoblog.intrapromote.com/2008/09/5_things_to_con_1.html.
This is a great discussion to start. I look forward to seeing what others come up with in the near future.
I might just ask the crowd at 5alist to come up with a few top fives for this if you don’t mind? http://5alist.com
@Owen: I love the question you’ve proposed. I think there are examples of grassroots + social media being used to support open source software. I think it just requires some creative thinking of how to obtain the needed resources.
@Brett S. Lane: Thanks for your 5 things post. Looking forward to reading it!
@Stef: Please, as the 5alist crew! Looking forward to what they come up with
5 Questions to ask your social media consultant or vendor:
Ask them what they do AND don’t do. (If you can’t understand in a couple of minutes, then it is a magic show – do not proceed.)
Ask them who their competition is – and why they are different.
Ask for real-world examples with actual results (sales, etc.)
Ask for specific recommendations on how they can help you.
Ask for a simple follow-up and see if it happens.
(Finally, remember – you get what you pay for!)
TO’B MotiveQuest LLC
Five tips: Your candidate must: 1. Understand and acknowledge that the social media component is part of an overall strategy, the purpose of which is to sell more of what your company makes or does. Using social media is a means to that end.
Speak clearly and use little or no jargon. The ability to speak and write precisely is critical. Reliance on jargon and buzzwords indicates unclear thinking. Further, it produces communication that may appear to be clear and precise but is not, thus misleading the participants.
Show you measurable, relevant results from his/her prior work. He/she must prove to you that XYZ prior client gained $abc sales, conversions or something else that would put money in your pocket as a direct result of his/her work.
Be willing to accept a significant portion of his/her payment based on results. It is fine to pay some amount simply for the time and effort of your consultant, but with something as imperfectly developed as the application of social media to marketing, you will want the consultant to bring more dollars in before you pay more dollars out.
Be able to explain how he/she would help your company in the event of a disaster (product problem, financial problem, etc.) Whatever visibility your company has, if your situation turns negative, how will your consultant use social media in your interest?
5 targets you should have in your service agreement with the social media consultant:
1) Improving sign up rates to your email newsletter – not just numbers in Twitter/Facebook or whatever – preferably to a database where you can carry out some profiling/segementation
2) Agree a continuation strategy – i.e. how in-house staff with minimum tech savvy will continue the platforms and engagement the consultant sets up.
3) Metrics for the consultation and continuation strategy – assign time invested in the engagement against hard measures including main database sign-up, conversion on promoted products/programmes in addition to sign-up numbers, page views, posts.
4) Agree the tone and type of engagement which suits the client and seek out spaces that match their aspiration – quality engagement, not just about volume of sign-up or just getting into every platform for the sake of it
5) Outline a risk analysis – what could go wrong through this new type of engagement? How can you both be aware of and minimise risk?
1: Don’t.
Not to be completely snarky, there are a lot of legit social media consultants out there (and at least one dangerously awesome one). Unfortunately, there are also a lot of hacks
Let’s say I had a car and I wanted to become a better driver of that car. Let’s say I was willing to pay a consultant for help. I’d likely look to hire someone who has built cars, or raced cars, or done something else successfully with cars. Hiring a “social media consultant” strikes me as hiring a “Midgrade Unleaded Consultant” in this horrible metaphor. Nothing wrong about hearing the excitement around midgrade unleaded. It really changed the game when it came out. Luxury car owners were able to start saving a little bit per gallon and driving farther for the dollar over the long haul. There’s just, you know.. A lot more to consider.
Social media is important, it’s enabled a lot of people to do things easier/cheaper than they were before in a lot of cases. Thing is, it’s just a piece of the larger business puzzle. If someone can’t speak intelligently about the larger picture from different stand points, you’ll likely not get the ROI you’re looking for. You’ll just hear a bunch of dribble about “conversations” in 140 characters or less.
When I hire any business consultant, whether it is a Marketer, PR, copywriter. I better have my own understanding of the ROI involved. If I don’t, That consultant better educate me in our first encounter.
1) What’s is the ROI on your services for my business?
Remember If it don’t make Dollars it don’t make sense.
2) How do we track the tangible returns and create benchmarks for your success? If you can’t see direct benefit in some measurable aspect than it’s bunk.
3) How do I enhance the existing community around my products with Social Media?
4) Where have you done this before?
5) Can I call them for a reference?
The best tip I can impart is don’t hire someone from Samsung, and when you hear the name ‘Samsung’, run away as far and fast as you can!
I find it amazing that this company has the time and effort and money to scour blogs online for the pure purpose of giving away free Monitors, when they can’t even repair or replace the broken ones they ship out every day.
If you ask me (and you kinda did) the best quality to look for in a social media consultant would be the ‘down to earth’ quality. Someone who understands that the smallest customer is the most important.
Man. I hate Samsung.
@Andrew: so Andrew, is it safe to say you aren’t interested in the giveaway?
Shame, because your tip was really good!
Hey Alex,
If my tip is the best and I win, I would then bequeath the monitor to a charity of your choice. (It would end up with a dead pixel or 8 anyway)
I have to run to a meeting but I wanted to throw my two cents in before I head out. The internet is great for reaching out to your customers, but the whole part of Social anything is…well being social. So your person can’t be afraid of getting the companies hands a little dirty by suggesting things like interacting in your customers real world community. Throw a party, host a meet up or sponsor something. Can your Social Media person handle interpersonal interactions as well as internet interactions. Just my two cents. : )
Not posting this for the contest, but check this out… if this isn’t a bad example of social media consulting I don’t know what is. http://socialmediaguide.blogspot.com/2008/10/socialmediapowercom.html
Why would someone actually need to hire a “social media consultant”, in the first place? It’s like asking someone for the time when you have a watch on your wrist.
Save your marketing budget. Put an ad on craigslist searching for a high school girl. Give her a new Coach purse, or a T-Mobile Sidekick. She’ll show you better returns on your social media campaign than any hired chump and in half the time.
Some people seem to take social media just a bit too far. It’s not an analytical science. It’s just online interaction with other community members in a social manner. Get off your asses and say something to your community and quite trying to “measure returns.” Social media is for the anti-social. All it takes is a bit of personality and they’ll follow your lead. Quite trying to define your brand by what you “think” the consumer wants. Talk to them. They’ll talk back.
5 Tips:
Two tips are all you need, and they’re very simple:
This person should already know and love your brand. You can’t fake passion successfully and authenticity is crucial.
They should have demonstrated their chops by building a strong brand for themselves, in large part through social media. If they can’t do it for themselves, they can’t help you.
@jehawbaker
it’s been two weeks.
who is the winner?
any body please share specific recommendations on how they can help.
any body please share specific recommendations on how they can help.