BY ANDY CHECO
Nowadays every PR agency and PR professional is claiming to be social media experts. The reality is that you must be in it to understand it, you must be in it to master it and it takes time. Yes, there is an increasing demand from clients to be in social media, which in return means an increasing business opportunity. However, how can you claim to be an expert on something you have never experience?
My advice to PR agencies and practitioners:
- Become an active participant– Simply having a twitter or facebook account does not accredit you as an “expert”. You must be social and engage others.
- Share insights- You will learn that in social media the more you share the more you elevate your credibility, the more your peers will view you as an authority in the matter.
- You get what you put into it – New business opportunity, recruitment of top talent, access to relevant information, the benefits are countless, but they only come to you if you engage. What are you waiting for?
My advice to PR agencies clients:
- Don’t buy your PR agency claim of being experts in social media – research them. Fact is that if they or their employees do not have an active presence in it, they will not be able to deliver on their promises. Is the CEO in social media?
- Don’t embark in a social media anything if you are not ready to be social– social media is about instant conversations. It’s answering questions that are relevant when they are asked, not three days later when you get legal approval on a generic answer. Even if your agency is indeed an expert in social media, they wont be able to deliver unless you understand that social media is not advertising, it is not a press release, it is not broadcasting. Social media is a conversation, a human conversation.
Lastly, you must understand that social media is not a premeditated communication platform. Yes you should have a strategy, but you should also be authentic. Start being authentic and begin engaging your audience today.
Great article, Andy. As a recognized leader in both web-monitoring of social media online chatter as well as outreach/influence to social communities, we agree with your excellent perspective.
Best,
Chas. Salmore
CEO
Marketingworks, Inc. (“MWKS”)
chas@mwks.net
(323) 436-2000
Thanks Chas! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Regards,
Andy Checo
Blog: andycheco.com
Twitter: @andycheco
Great post, Andy!
May I add that you must make yourself accessible, and when accessible, you must be open to connecting in person. I had the pleasure of meeting you in person months back and you were just as engaging in real world as you are online. Extremely important, especially since in the near future we will all be doing much more video content than ever before-or at least those of us that claim to be social media experts will be.
Best always/Para adelante,
– hc –
Excellent article! Participation leads to valuable insights that would otherwise be nonexistent.
Thanks for the comments!
@Harold I totally agree with making yourself accessible to connect in person. I have to admit this is one of the things I to start doing more consciously.