The Social Media Expert Revisited in 2011

One of the best articles I read this year was this one.

“I Will Never Hire a “Social Media Expert,” and Neither Should You” by ‘Peter Shankman.

Mr. Shankman stresses some great points in his article. His main point is:

“IT’S ABOUT GENERATING REVENUE THROUGH SOLID MARKETING AND STELLAR CUSTOMER SERVICE, JUST LIKE IT’S BEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.”  by Peter Shankman, May 20, 2011.

Peter emphazies this point with some follow-up points:

It’s about Transparency – Don’t lie, be real and help your clients tell your company story.

It’s about Relevance – Know which channels are connecting you with your clients. Don’t build a Facebook page just to have one. At some point it needs to drive revenues or add value to your customer service.

It’s about Brevity– Learn to write quality content with correct grammar and that can capture people’s attention in a matter of seconds.

Knowing your customer -Reach out to your audience. Make sure your customers think of your company first before your competitors. Are your customers involved with helping you make your products and services better. Make sure you connect with them on a first-name basis.

I really thought this post and the recent “To Don’t Post” have really helped me get back to focusing on key ideas and have helped me determine where I need to spend my time with respect to marketing projects.

Where do you stand with your marketing projects in 2011? Do you have a clear direction, or do you need to take a step back and reevaluate your priorities?

Picture: Mai Lee