Itamar Kestenbaum

Social Media: A Shiny Object

You know the shiny object well – we’re the ADD generation. Social Media can be, for many, simply a shiny new object. It’s got cool minimalist designs with large lettering and c

ool transitions between features. Widgets are getting prettier, and colors are getting softer and easier to the eye. But seriously. Can you stand to read another “54 Ways to Retweet” blog post from some guy who’s ‘got it all figured out’ because he knows how to use features? Isn’t there something more to Social Media than just feeding itself? Maybe this would be clearer if I were to pose the question this way: “Do you want to read another blog post about blog posts?!”

So You Think You’re An “Expert?”

So you’re walking around calling yourself a maven and wearing “I’m big on Twitter” shirts. You call yourself an “Expert” in your Twitter bio. That’s great! You’re telling someone how to share on Facebook. that’s awesome! But Twitter was started in 2006. Facebook was launched in 2004. We’re in 2010 now. People are still trying and erring. You want to see experts? The writers at Mashable are experts. The writers over at TechCrunch are experts. The people at New Marketing Labs are experts.

Don’t call yourself an expert. You’ll make a fool

of yourself – and I’d hate to see you do that.

Show Me The Money!

If you want to be a Community Manager or a Social Marketing Consultant, however, you are welcome to do so! But what you need to do in order to join that awesome group is to prove that you can ge

nerate ROI. Here are some things you need to be able to do:

• Can you take a company who’s struggling t o get customer’s through the door and plug them in to the community?
• Can you then take that connection, hone it, and turn it into a conversation?
• Can you then take that conversation and turn it into business?
• Will the business you bring in be worth the time and effort that company put into the campaign, and most importantly, you?
• Can you do all of that through a well formulated strategy that includes listening, engagement, and, most importantly, measuring?

If you can do these things, great! As far as I’m concerned, you’re an expert. You have mastered what it takes to use Social Media to bring companies business.

In short, what I’m really trying to say is this: knowing how to use Social Media is like knowing how to drive. Knowing how to use Social Media to generate ROI is like being a NASCAR racer. So if you know how to signal, break, and drive 80 MPH, you’re a driver. That doesn’t make you a NASCAR driver, though. Just a driver. So stop telling us how to retweet, and start tuning in to what’s really important: the customer.

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