Hi My Name is Melodie & I’m a “Social Media Expert”

Lately, I’ve been hearing more and more “Social Media Experts” complain that too many people are calling themselves “Social Media Experts”. So how does one garner the elite, self proclaimed title?  It’s not like there’s a Social Media test we take and as soon as we pass we’re certified Social Media Experts. This is not law school or med school and we all know there isn’t really a job called “Social Media Expert”.

Based on the way the title is used I compare it to someone who plays an instrument but may be a beginner yet still calls themselves a musician or someone who takes photos as a hobby and calls themselves a photographer. It seems that people who calls them selves a Social Media Expert have many things in common:

• They are really passionate about Social Media.
• They are very active on Social Media
• They constantly engage and interacts with others on Social Media
• They demonstrate knowledge to their Social Media Network
• They truly believes they have good content to contribute.

Is  there anything wrong with anything on my list? Not really. In fact everything seems positive to me.  So why do we roll our eyes every time we hear the term “Social Media Expert?” The more “experts” out there, the more knowledge is available.

Instead of rolling your eyes next time you come across someone who calls them self a social media expert here are some mutually beneficial alternatives:

1. Follow the Social Media Expert on Twitter: This is a quick and easy way learn something from their tweets and see if they’re producing useful content. Remember you can always unfollow.
2. Read the Social Media Expert’s Blog: Again you may learn something. Comment on their blog with a question that requires a thoughtful answer. See how they respond. If you like their response move on to #3
3. Invite the Social Media Export to guest blog on your website: What a great way to get a perspective on Social Media from someone other than yourself!
4. Review the Social Media Expert’s LinkedIn contact list: What other industry leaders are they connected to? Have the provided any answers that you may find useful? They may have a connection you’ve been trying to reach.
5. Review the Social Media Expert’s Bio and pay close attention to their overall career journey. What corporate jobs have they had? What types of clients they work? Perhaps you’ll find they’ve had experienced in a field you’ve always wanted to learn about.

I’m confident you’ll learn at least one piece of new information by doing something on this list. After all if you’re a Social Media Expert you should be doing this stuff anyway! If you really don’t find value in any of their content then at least you’re justified to roll your eyes.

Basically this post is my attempt to turn a negative clique of the Social Media Expert into something positive that actually adds value to Social Media.  Social media is an infinite space. Your network grows exponentially with every connection you make. Why waste your time swiping someone’s credibility when your time can be better spent collaborating, learning, adding value and understanding other Social Media Experts?