Peter Shankman wrote an epic post on Business Insider called Why I Will Never, Ever Hire A “Social Media Expert“. The 1st sentence tells you that you’re in for a good rant:
I was going to call this article “All ‘Social Media Experts’ Need To Go Die In A Fire,” but I figured I should be nicer than that.
The author’s ultimate point is that social media is not a magic pill that will make your company successful. To achieve success, the formula is “solid marketing and stellar customer service, just like it’s been since the beginning of time”. He goes on to explain how companies should be using social media – by being transparent, relevant, brief and by knowing your customer.
I realized this some time ago too. This is why I’m not all out to get more followers and fans and have been much more personal and quieter on Twitter and my blog. I don’t want to be blogging and tweeting for traffic and followers because I want to be blogging and tweeting for me. Social media is a means to an end, not the end itself. Social media is also not a popularity contest.
Then again, it is a social environment and in every one you’ll have those who try to be Mr and Ms Popularity. I guess it means there’s no escaping these guys. Luckily, my Twitter client of choice has a mute button.
