DISQUS

Ryan Holiday · 4 months ago

The whole notion of there being legal difficulties or SEC guidelines or clients that only like to do things a certain way are common place in reality and rare of tech blogs. This is the reason that most of what they say is completely meaningless and masturbatory. This is just starting to become obvious.

Ryan Stephens · 4 months ago

I wish I could take this, particularly the first point and laminate it to the forehead of some 'social media consultants.' I liken it to a batting coach tweaking your swing. He's experienced, he's seen thousands of swings, and knows what typically works. Then he has to adapt what typically works to what works with the hitter's approach.

The best say, based on what I'm looking at here's a handful of things I think we could tweak/experiment with. Let me know what works and what doesn't and we'll adjust accordingly. It has to a be a process that evolves based on the consultants vast knowledge/experiences, and also the client's culture and what goals they're trying to accomplish.

R

Matt · 4 months ago

@Ryan Holiday: You're touching a great point: many of the bloggers, especially those with zero real-world experience, live in a delusional fairyland where anything is possible and execution is a flick of a switch. These social media gurus definitely have experience--just not in the field. As corporations begin to hire social media consultants, I imagine that this will change over the next few years.

@Ryan Stephens: Yea, it's all about adjusting to what works for your company. Few ideas exist in the world of marketing that can be broadcast out uniformly.

But the problem is that few consultants have any professional experience in social media. Everyone seems to be bullshitting their way into gigs. This is fine, but it will be a couple years before anyone can epitomize your batting coach analogy.

Daniel Schutzsmith · 4 months ago

Thanks for this post! Such eye opening clarity and much of it are assumptions I had about most "social media gurus" or any "guru" for that matter. I hope more folks step up and talk about their experience with these "experts" so more of our clients don't keep falling for the same BS.

Joseph · 4 months ago

I think this could have happened with any consultant or expert– not just someone from Social Media.

Try meeting a bad financial planner.

Eric Pakurar · 4 months ago

Thanks for that, Matt. That made my day.

Michael McWatters · 4 months ago

Thanks for the excellent example of how these "gurus" operate.

We are considering social media experts to collaborate with, and a lot of them are charlatans, plain and simple. Some are legitimately talented, with key insights and sage advice.

I recently posted about my encounter with one of the former types: http://mmcwatters.com/blog/?p=845

Twitter Geek · 4 months ago

Love it, so tired of hearing the arrogance of twitter people about others "not getting it". I recommended someone for a big, easy job and my firm declined because of the arrogent twitter content and personal facebook page. Maybe there is a lesson learned here. Hope so.

Matt Daniels · 4 months ago

@Joseph: Thanks for comment! Agreed--arrogance is something that possesses anyone that is given the power to consult on someone else's business. I'm guessing that you had a bad experience with a financial planner? Yikes.

@Michael: Interesting stuff. Social media is so new that any "experts" must be charlatans. But give it a few years, and the ones with legit experience will bubble to the top.

Regine Heidorn · 4 months ago

If you're searching social media to find social media expertise, you'll rather find a guru than a consultant.

Peeyoosh Chandra · 4 months ago

HI Matt,

That post made me laugh. I have been in similar meetings where the consultant has not understand the "reality" that their client operates in.

And it has lead to the most absurd conversations about "engagement" and "particiaptory communications".

To put a stop to it, we invited them to a bullshit bingo presentation. The laughs alone made life easier.

PC

Jillian Wood · 4 months ago

Great post! Has given me some food for thought in my next social media pitch...Think I will be subscribing!

Mike Newton-Ward · 4 months ago

An excellent cautionary tale for all who consult--no matter what the topic!