

Why social media gurus should be trampled by elephants - AlexBlom
http://alexblom.com/blog/2010/08/socialmediagurussuck/

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ryanwaggoner
You come off a little strong in this post, even though I agree with your basic
premise. I also found it ironic that your about page lists this:

 _Marketer extraordinaire and social media addict (this blog has been built to
2,800 subscribers and my Twitter has over 34,000 followers)_

So, is building a social media following valuable or not? I'm confused...

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admorphit
I believe the article is trying to point out that building a social media
following is only valuable if there is a purpose besides just gaining
followers/fans. Interesting read.

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AlexBlom
Sorry guys, server has not crashed like this before even from HN traffic. Will
look into it. Below is a copy paste (w/o the cool pictures):

\------------------------

Several weeks ago I wrote that social media is not new. I only partially
called out the pony, rainbow and unicorn practitioner's though. I’ve been
‘doing the Twitter’ for years now and social media gurus there is what teenage
girls once were to Myspace. Worse, these gurus claim to be offering
professional services.

If I had my say they would all be trampled by elephants. So, without further
ado, here are my top 5 reasons your social media guy needs to be trampled by
an elephant. Ponies, Rainbows and Unicorns

Ask them what they do. The answer: I engage people, I create relationships, I
add a layer of transparency. They may as well talk about ponies, rainbows and
unicorns.

Now, my friends, is when we run screaming. I can put glass dividers in an
office and add transparency. Engaging people is useless without anchoring it
to a brand and a business goal. Ask them specifically what they do and who
they target (i.e. I create digital campaigns to demographic x to inform them
of product y). Gold star if they can hit 1/2. Sometimes the sun, stars, moon
and seas are perfectly aligned somebody can answer this.

Perhaps one of my favourite past-times at conferences is to talk to these guys
and constantly tell them that ‘engaging people’ is not something and ask for
something more specific. Watch their heads explode, just like here. I see it
as public service.

What’s a bottom line?

When talking to the next social media ‘guru’ you meet, ask them what bottom
line impact their campaigns had. Note: bottom line is not engaged people,
viral buzz or new followers; bottom line is the amount of sales their campaign
generated, customer support queries it solved etc.

Don’t let them talk about ponies, rainbows and unicorns here. Maybe they just
never did “math” in school so be really basic: You were paid this much by the
big nice executive. In turn, you generated him this many dollars so he had
this many left over.

Social Media is ‘it’

As I’ve pointed out before, social media is not the everything. It is a
component of something bigger. Perhaps it is aligned with your recruitment
strategy (run screaming if they had never thought of this). Maybe it is timed
with other marketing activities. But when you meet one who honestly believes
everything can be solved socially take pity, it is not their fault. Some
people are not born as smart as others. You know, the ones who don’t move for
the elephant.

I can’t afford a graphics guy

Yep, I thought the Myspacer’s were terrible but I think the gurus have taken
the crown. We all put photos on our site but seriously guys, get a
professional photo and photoshop it properly. There is no excuse to have white
edges on your photos from a poor cut out nor should I feel like you just
scanned last night’s DUI photos.

Don’t worry though, social media gurus, I get that these professional services
are expensive and you can’t afford them. That’s because you don’t understand
business and can’t charge for what you do. I’ve taken the liberty of doing
some research, most Universities offer great marketing programs.

Wait, my Apple runs on Unix? or What’s a Unix?

Betting on a social guru with no technology training is like betting on the
Mayans. No, they don’t have to be coders, engineers or designers but you need
to fundamentally understand your field. Would you hire a plumber who didn’t
know water went downhill?

If your guru lacks any technical knowledge it’s time to call the elephants
over.

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ronnier
Can use my cache also:
[http://viewtext.org/?url=http%3a%2f%2falexblom.com%2fblog%2f...](http://viewtext.org/?url=http%3a%2f%2falexblom.com%2fblog%2f2010%2f08%2fsocialmediagurussuck%2f)

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AlexBlom
Cool tool. Thanks.

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ronnier
Np. I just fixed the link, previous link wasn't all there. Bad copy paste from
iPhone.

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tyng
I happen to be one of those "gurus" that provide social media consultancy
service to a government agency on the sideline. I totally agree with your
points and am surprised there are people who just pretend to be professional
social media experts.

On the other hand I do take pride in my work because - as bizarre as it may
sound - there are managers out there just don't get "social". As more and more
organisations nowadays want to become social and start engaging their users,
there are definitely opportunities in this new field - but not by people
talking about unicorns of course! Codes and standards will come in time.

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JustinSeriously
I used to feel the same way, but then I read that the Old Spice Commercials
had a couple social media experts on site, assisting in the entire creative
process.
([http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_old_spice_won_the_i...](http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_old_spice_won_the_internet.php))

Most Social Media Experts are probably full of hot air, but at least two of
them have contributed to a funnier internet.

~~~
AlexBlom
I agree. Social Marketing can and does work. But like SEO there are plenty of
snake oil guys on the way.

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aniket_ray
Most social media 'gurus' on twitter are just spammers. They don't really want
to follow you and just follow you for the follow-back which they then use to
spam your living daylights out.

I was an early 'twitterer' at a time, when we used to follow everyone we met.
Because of the spammers, I hardly use twitter anymore.

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benatkin
It seems your server got trampled by HN.

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AlexBlom
Yep. Bringing the rig back up now. It's been trampled before but never gone
down. This must be a big boost.

~~~
AlexBlom
Back up. Will keep the balancing act going.

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AlexBlom
Thanks. I shall :) Never had it be this clunky before either.

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lionhearted
I almost didn't click because the title made me think it'd just be a rant, but
the basic point is good:

> Engaging people is useless without anchoring it to a brand and a business
> goal. Ask them specifically what they do and who they target (i.e. I create
> digital campaigns to demographic x to inform them of product y). Gold star
> if they can hit 1/2.

