Social Media Marketing will soon become a commodity skill set

Jun
12

Social Media Marketing will soon become a commodity skill set

After doing a little research within my own communities on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, it is clear to me that this space will soon be inundated with even more social media consultants and experts. <— like we need more of those.

The same thing happened almost ten years ago with search. Take a look at the job boards today and the resumes posted there; I am sure you will find a several hundred, if not thousands, of people with similar skill sets related to paid search, search marketing, search engine optimization, pay-per-click, etc.

It’s probably already happened with social media; and the question we need to ask ourselves is “what can we do to differentiate ourselves from everyone else, especially during these tough economic times?” What I think will differentiate the common skill sets of blog design & consulting, twitter expertise, RSS gurus, social search, etc. is the following:

Community building: not in the form of thousands of twitter followers or RSS subscribers. Community building in the form of direct, one to one interaction between a brand and its constituents with the end result being brand affinity, trust and strong relationships. Not only defining the strategy but flawless execution.

Global Social Media: Launching a social media program and consumer engagement here in the U.S. pretty easy. We know and understand the tools that people use to interact. The skill set that will set itself a part from others is the knowledge and expertise of launching global social media campaigns that are measurable. This would require a keen understanding of the different geographies, the social tools, and social networks; and more importantly, the culture dynamic is it relates to the social web. Easy to talk about; difficult to execute.

Integration: integrating social media into existing marketing campaigns and programs is not easy. A Facebook app, a blog and an associated twitter account doesn’t count either. True integration should happen at every single customer touch point (i.e. the web, outdoor, channel, retail, etc.) and only a few companies do this well (ie. Nike, Virgin America). A person that can define a strategy that accounts for each touch point and ensures a tight social integration will definitely be a hot commodity for any business. Again, it boils down to execution.

Am I off base here? Please tell me what you think. Hat tip to Tatyana Kanzaveli for giving me the idea for this post.

Author: Michael Brito

Michael Brito is a Vice President of Social Media at Edelman Digital. All thoughts and opinions on this blog are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer or clients; neither past or present.

justinjboone

These are some really great focus points, thank you for sharing. One thing that I would like to add that I think will be equally important, especially on a consulting level, is the ability to forecast trends and shifting patterns across all platforms. At that point, we can remove the significance of labeling it as "social media" and instead allow ourselves to become fluid in our thought process around it, positioning ourselves, clients and brands to adjust appropriately along the way. We can also then work on long term strategies that position companies ahead of the game, rather than always trying to catch up to keep up with consumers and technologies. This is sort of expanding on your second point of global social media. Thanks for the post!

RyanJLewis

That's pretty good stuff and I like that you are opening up the topic in an open manner. I think campaign integration, automation and measurement/management will be the difference between a "talker/consultant" and a "doer/marketing partner." It's all about TANGIBLE benefit.The advantage of the transparent manner of social media is it flushes out the wannabes quicker.

Great post!

Dude

Yes, you are right. A miss on my part. Industry analysis and the ability to determine future technology trends will is equally as important.

Jamie Burke

Hi Michael,

It does seem with every new day there is a social media consultant born however I would try and consider social media in a context wider than just that of the comms industry. In this space alone it should be exactly that: a commodity skill set. You shouldn’t be allowed to say you are a comms professional nowadays, but to be kind in the next years time, if you don't at least understand the theory behind best practice. As it is no longer fringe stuff but mainstream and an environment that your client already exists within like it or not.

The differentiator will be those folk that are busy using it as a toolset to change businesses wholesale across all disciplines, not just another channel to market in, but to make better products, leaner businesses and in building cheaper and more effective routes to market.

Jamie

Twitter.com/jamie247

Brian Ambrozy

Luckily, this has already begun. The one thing all these "social media experts" fail to realize is that for the most part, their legion of 10s of thousands of followers has no actual value. Numbers are useless. Can you really engage 75,000 people? Things change when you meet someone face-to-face. I'd rather make one new actual friend than have 20,000 new followers. Once you engage someone on a personal level, they become a champion for you because you care; and because you will become a champion of them.

Twitter can be one giant echo chamber. In the end, the ducks will be still quacking, wondering where all the people went.

SEO'Brien

What you saying Brito?? That I'm merely a commodity!? That cuts me deep man... deep.

Really, a great point. I'd add that sophistication with analytics and community platforms (bulletin boards, blog platforms, network software like buddypress, etc.) is a key differentiator. http://thingfo.com is pretty cool, I'd like to see more web services that measure the impact of social media (and more importantly, people who know how to measure it within the bigger picture). But still lacking is experience with the technologies behind them; in the same way that SEO is handicapped when developers and designers treat it like the responsibility of the marketers, integrated social marketing is handicapped by a lack of experience with the technical solutions, paid more attention by developers.

Sonny Gill

You make some great points here, Michael.

What's really becoming a 'run of the mill' skill set is the knowledge of these tools that we used, whether done honestly or through gaming the system. The thing that's going to take the Social Media industry to the next level is that high-level thinking of implementing your 3 points within marketing/business strategies.

How are we going to use these tools to better our business; our customer support, our online presence, our business development? These are some of the questions that many businesses are asking for and it's something that only some are are willing/able to do. Doing so though, will not only help your respective company but will differentiate yourself from that commodity skill set, and showcase your abilities for something that businesses can respect (outside of being able to create a Twitter or Facebook profile).

It's really time to put down the 'shiny toy' juice box and step into something that will make a difference for businesses and not just your follower count.

Monika_Lorincz

I think you are onto something here. However real time search also has a great impact on any business. Before handling social media you need to know what people are saying right now about your brand, your business. Real times search helps you be up to date and gives you guidance on how to continue your social media campaign.

Monika Lorincz
monika at surchur.com
http://surchur.com/
Blog: http://blog.surchur.com/
Twitter: @surchur

Paul McEwan

I like the community building point. The Seth Godin approach if you will. A lot of people are getting involved but like I've said before, we're still writing the book on Social Media Marketing. For me, my aim is to help clients (Realtors in particular) achieve finding their authentic selves to put forward because if they don't they'll either have to carefully walk the fine line they market about themselves forever or get found out.

Moving people from old school marketing to this new online "tribe based" marketing is just a step that will eventually lead to what you are talking about. A time where everyone gets it and wants more measurable results out of it.

Teaching people to use social media is not a long term Social Media Consultancy. Love what you are saying here.

Dude

@paul

Exactly, permission marketing. I read the book a few years ago and it's always been in the back of my mind.

Thank you for your comment.

land rover spares

I totally agree with the three keys you pointed out here.If these three things were combine,a perfect marketing strategy will comes out.

Phil Corbett

As a marketer, I love that you created this post. I can not tell you how many "social media experts" I run into online. Just because you set up a twitter account with a fancy background and got 20,000 people to follow you because you promise to follow you back means nothing. Anyway...

I personally use social media as part of an integrated marketing strategy including traditional marketing like webinars, e-newsletters, events, traditional pr, etc. We use social media as a way to engage, promote and push information to clients, partners, prospects, etc. And if my companies following is only 300 on twitter I will take that to the 20,000 if it consists mostly of key targets.

I have seen smaller companies create themselves almost entirely via social media - and it did not take a self proclaimed expert to get them there - it took understanding that you are having conversations and being genuine... that is key to brand respect.

I don't want to come off as thinking there are no such things as social media experts, because there are people who understand basic principals of marketing and have used the tools presented by social media to enhance their strategy. If you are not thinking about how to generate leads, push/educate people through the sales cycle, increase brand awareness/loyalty, reduce risk and finally sell... then you really are not a social media expert in the realm of sales and marketing- you are just a guy with a twitter/facebook/identi.ca/digg... account.

Dude

Phil -- thanks for your thought provoking comment. Appreciate the insights.

Michael Brito

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Deanna Govoni

Great post, Michael. Definitely agree with Sonny: "How are we going to use these tools to better our business; our customer support, our online presence, our business development?" # of followers doesn't translate into much if you are not driving business value. Interaction is key and customer support teams need to get on board with social media...

listening in is first step...

Robert Alaney

Interesting!

I feel like there is a scarcity of good marketing today. Good marketing means which can convert the leads into sales. The only marketing that has moved me in the last couple of years is Social Media Optimization.

Ben A.

I'm just starting to dive into the SEO / Social media landscape but it seems to me that folks in the SEO/SMM sphere greatly greatly overestimate how widespread the intelligent use of both is by a great number of companies and website designers. I do agree with the importance of the 3 broader skill sets you mention above, but in addition I think it's becoming increasingly important to be able to tie both SEO and Social Media efforts to trackable metrics to gauge their effectiveness.

mymarriagelistcomsales

Global Social Media will be more important in the next few years due to the huge population residing in Asia. Social media sites like Shaadi.com, MyMarriageList.com etc. will be draw more viewers, as well as a significant share of online marketing dollars.

Patrice

Those are great points.

websitedesignfranchise

Social media marketing is one of the most effective way used widely by most marketers today.I guess this is the main reason why marketers even newbies spend time to master the skill of advertising through social media sites.