Answering the 8 Questions to Ask Your “Social Media Expert”

12th February, 2009 - Josh Peters

Last week Dave Fleet put up a post about the 8 Questions to Ask Your “Social Media Expert”. Personally I don’t like the term Social Media Expert. It’s vague, it’s over used, and it’s impossible to be. How can you be an “expert” in something that is literally growing and changing everyday? Are you an expert in all the bleeding edge stuff right as it goes beta? I doubt it.

Personally I prefer Social Media Sherpa. There is literally a mountain of information and it keeps growing. The tectonic plates of Social Media Land move much quicker than the earths and as such the landscape and content changes constantly. When looking for an “expert” look for someone who knows how to think ahead and plan for change. Look for someone with a solid understanding and dedication to social media.

I’ve spent over 2 years researching and creating case studies of various social media sites, their features and marketing possibilities. I spend at least 2 hours everyday researching (well 360 / 365) what is happening in this field. Why? Because I’m passionate about what I do and I want to be more knowledgeable and better equipped today than I was yesterday.

Enough rambling, after seeing his post and reading the questions I thought it would be fun to answer these questions. So here you go. My answers to Dave Fleets 8 Questions to Ask Your Social Media Expert:

1. Can you give me an example of social media work you’ve completed for a client recently?

Yes! In fact I have a list of clients and what they said right here on the clients page. I’m currently talking to a couple others and should have another new client announcement or two soon.

2. How do you go about pitching bloggers?

The best scenario is to create a relationship. It’s almost always possible, and the most effective. Read their blog, comment on it, engage them on Twitter, FaceBook, or where ever else they hang out at. If you don’t have some sort of a relationshipwith the blogger you are going to pitch (and even if you do) remember you’re pitching a person not a “blogger”. Make sure it’s relevant and something they might be interested in, and personalize the message!

3. How do you monitor what people are saying about you?

There are several ways to go about this. Setting up your Google Alerts and Twitter search feeds in an RSS reader are not only fast, free, and easy but they are the foundation of a good listening plan. From there you can branch out into other services like Notify.Me, SocialMention, Google Blog Search, BackType, Techonrati, and any networks you’re a part of. If you can afford it then you can really step up your game with fantastic services like Radian6, BuzzGain, or BuzzLogic. Setting up UserVoice is also a great way to get dynamic feedback.

4. Where can I find you online?

Head on over to my blog at Shuaism and look on the right side of the screen. There is a list of all the places you can find me. I also blog at RoyalAnts and have done guest posts on Mashable and several other great blogs around the web (with a ton more to come). So I guess the answer would be… all over.

5. Can you (ghost) write my blog for me?

No. No one knows your topic and no one knows your business better than you. When I create content I do it with my name attached and if it’s a blogging position that you’re looking to fill I know several bloggers for hire that are excellent, but none of them will ghost write. One of the core tenants of social media is transparency and ghost writing definitely doesn’t fit that model.

6. How do you measure results?

Result measurements are based on your goals. If you don’t have clearly defined goals created at the beginning of your plan you will have nothing to measure and no sense of direction. There are countless tools to give you measurements, but without goals they are just numbers.

7. How would you define social media?

Social media is an ever growing and changing collection of tools and sites that allow us to communicate, share, build relationships, and exchange ideas and content in new and exciting ways. It’s built on the principles of transparency and trust. We have created ways to choose what we see, who we talk to, who can talk to us, and we decide how to do it. If you’re not coming in with an attitude of transparency and working to build trust then you’re going to fail.

8. Can you just pretend to be me online?

Never. I can help you gain a voice and if I’m working with you I will help promote you, but it will always come from me with clear disclosure when I do.

What about you? Any questions, thoughts or insights you’d like to add?

Thank you for reading,
- Josh “Shua” Peters

image by Joe Shlabotnik