Its a good post.
I mean, its fun to read in the same way that our post Five signs your new SEO client may suck got more likes, tweets and comments than our Five signs your SEO client kicks ass did.
Calling it like it is rocks " whether its true or not. And hating on groups of people unites us as we chuckl at their stupidity, not ours.
Ditch The Blood-sucking SEO Experts
Remember that?
Its not long ago that SEOs were in the same position SocMeds are in today. Nobody outside the industry really understood what you did or why you did what you did. And those who thought they knew had it wrong, thinking we were doing what their marketing company could do, or what their press agent could have done, or
That all we bring to the table is crap is so engrained that Googles autocomplete for SEO is looks like this:
The Truth Behind Douchebagism
Of course there are douchebags among the social media professionals. As there are in SEO. Or among car repair people. Or eye glasses sales men.
Understanding why douchebags can exist and make money " often more than you do -- will help you become a better professional and a better sales person as you understand the needs of your market and can address them.
Douchebagism begins with a need; the need of a client.
In this case the need is: using social media to achieve specific business goals.
The only reason the client is looking for someone is that they know of but dont know about the required area of expertise, right?
So along comes someone who talks the talk. Knows the jargon. Jibes the vibe. There is a clear familiarity with the platform and its tools.
Believe me. Ill show you. Heres how to do that. This is what that means.
This heres how its called establishes an expert <> grasshopper relationship built on empty your mind, believe me, trust me
This trust me, believe me is then taken to the next level, the one of douchebaggery: just as you don't know and understand the tools and the platform, so you don't understand how their use effects your business goals, so just believe me
(S)How: The Expert vs. Douchebag Difference
And thats how real SEO and SocMed experts differ from douchebags.
The real expert can explain, simplified, how which action has what effect and why that is beneficial to your desired business goals.
Once in the process of implementation the expert can then show you where and when those goals are being met.
Social Media Douchebags Experts
If you know that SEO is more than write it and they will come then you understand that social media is more than well, just open a Twitter account!
Achieving specific, measurable business goals through social media goes beyond being on a platform just like achieving specific, measurable business goals through search engine marketing goes beyond having a web site.
Starting with zero and growing into something or someone recognizing, trusted, liked and eventually recommended to friends and family takes work. It requires actionable processes that can be implemented within a company and goes beyond well, just, you know, be part of the conversation.
Social Media and Social Networking anno 2010 is a relatively new playing ground. Its experiencing the same yes but what does it do growth pains as blogging did, as SEO did. Most of the people working seriously within this field work hard. We owe them some respect.