Some of my best friends are Social Media Experts.

I have noticed lately that the tone of my posts have been less creepy and more cranky (this post may be evenly split) because I have been writing a lot about Social Media Experts and how I differentiate myself from the pack.

Well this post is less about me and more about a solution to the perception of your average Social Media Expert and before I get into it I have to tell you that this idea came to me while I was in bed with a pretty girl...why is that import? Well it isn't but I am making sure that if you remember nothing else from this post it is that even in bed with women my brain is still working overtime for you.

I recently asked the question on this here blog "What Makes You Special in Social Media besides being Early" and it got some interesting responses but I am still stuck on this idea and through it I came to this realization. Social Media is full of "Internet Famous" folks who have no real experience working with a brand or to take this further wouldn't know where to begin building a brand on through the Social Media channel. This isn't new and it used to bother me for some reason but like all industries, if they want to survive they need to innovate and social media is no different (yes I have written about this as well...you really should read my previous blog posts) so I propose all these Social Media "Kool Kids" who are internet famous re-brand themselves away from Social Media Experts to Personal Brand Experts.

For one it is more accurate and probably more lucrative since (and this part came from the woman I was with so I can't take full credit) there are a lot of CEO's and SR. people in big companies who need the help on the personal side of Social Media and not necessarily on the Brand side.

The Social Media Expert train has left the station but the Social Media/Personal Branding expert is just pulling in and who knows it may just be a money train.

Great News!! You Don't Need to "Engage" Customers Anymore!!!

I am writing this post from the world famous Roger Smith Hotel in NYC and the only reason I mention this is so you realize at the beginning that I was not in attendance at the event I am referencing in this post and as well I would like to say that even though I am using an example by @unmarketing I would like to say that if you read the post you will see I am not starting up with him but attempting to show another point of view to his comment in the effort to demonstrate this is an ever evolving space with the need for some fresh eyes. I should also mention that I don't know Scott except for on Twitter and haven't met him in real life so this may not be fair but I am in no way attacking him. I am sure Scott is a nice guy and he is only in the post because he inspired it...and as always, these opinions are mine and mine alone. What I am saying is that not even my mom wants to be associated with some of nonsense.

Last night as part of Social Media Week in Toronto, Scott Stratten spoke on the subject of Social Media at The Refresh Events gathering. I can't comment on the event or Scott's ability as a speaker because I wasn't there but I did see some of the tweets that came out from it and one specifically caught my eye.

This is a bold statement and one that I don't agree with.

Sure conventional Social Media wisdom says you need to respond to every comment and engage your community but since there is nothing really conventional about Social Media there can't really be conventional wisdom...or to phrase it differently, there can't be any hard and fast rules because every situation is different.

Under certain circunstances I advise companies not to engage their customers because there is no one on the team who has the correct personality/passion/disposition to do this sort of stuff. Communications is about comfort and confidence and if you don't have that person on your team you should not be putting people in a position to fail because that is just not fair.

BUT <---- I made that all caps because here comes the part that makes me look really smart and I wanted you to notice.

Even without true engagement you can still make a noticeable difference in customer care and activate customers to become more loyal and tweet about their level of satisfactions by simply listening super closely to their needs and make the necessary (if any) changes...then once the changes are made you let your customers notice on their own and let them draw their own conclusions to how or why the product or service is suddenly better. People are smart and they will notice your work.

How do I know this?

Well because just about every speaker on the Social Media speaking circuit says some version of "Your customers are talking about you weather you engage or not so you better get in there and engage" (I know because I say it in my presentations) so an assumption can be made by that logic that they will continue to talk about the "new" you and spread the word and by just listening you can still do your brand good and not ask your staff to do something they are not equipped to handle.

What says you?

p.s. This is just one example of "non engagement for fun and profit" and I could list a few more but honestly I am going to save them for a future blog post since I am finding myself too busy to come up with interesting blog content :)

I am an award winning Word of Mouth marketer!

Over the holidays my friend Pete Cashmore (yes ladies, we are friends and he is just as handsome in real life) wrote a post about how there was currently 15,740 "Social Media Experts" on Twitter.

That is a ridiculous number and one so big that it would almost be impossible to differentiate yourself within. This kinda makes me feel a little sad for all these experts because it takes a lot of hard work to be an expert at something and to have so many others with the same expertise you could almost make an argument that there is no expertise in actually becoming a Social Media Expert.....and that is kind of the point.

Social media is just a set of tools and a mindset that can be learned quite quickly with very little guidance. Pick up Mitch Joel's, or Chris Brogan/Julien Smith's books and you will have the foundation to start experimenting. If you are looking for help ask questions before you hire people and since there are so many of these experts out there be selective and remember you are the client with (hopefully) clear objectives beyond "We need a Facebook Fan Page" and always remember the wise observation I dropped on a group of folks recently while speaking on a Social Media Panel for Media Bistro and that was "all it takes it takes to become a SME is Get some business cards"

You may be saying to yourself that I am writing this because I am pissing on the ground and marking my territory but in truth I have never been a Social Media Expert nor do I want to be because the designation is far too limiting for what I do.

I am an award winning Word of Mouth marketer who happens to understand Social Media and uses it as a way to create interesting and talk able experiences.

In the new year I hope everyone aspires to be something more than just one of 15,740 all doing the same thing and brand themselves by actual skill because a shift is coming where people will have to start proving their expertise and not just talking about it.

Happy New Year everyone....even the Social Media Experts.