Hi-

Just finished reading the Social Media Pet Peeves and found the comments interesting including comments about “Social Media Experts”.  So, what do you think makes a person a Social Media Expert?  

no im not..lol…but a lot of other stores come to me  for   talk, since  my page is working  so well…

for me a welcome expert  would  be someone who  shows insight into my   world if he was trying to serve  my world….my world is   face to face   brick and mortar  not   cyber selling….  and   could show   some   of  his work  that   related to my world…like pages he worked on and  testimonials….and  had    industry facts  and   benchmarks and    lots of  real life  examples of whats working on   pages  ,,,,…..and be a good listener….and  be able to get down into the non tekk details more….i figure we can do about anything with time and effort….  but what  SHOULD  we do  with  our  social media is  the ;most important  question to me…i  dont  need ot know all the how tos, i wouldnt be doing  the tekk work………  …. 

with my facebook  i feel like i have a tiger  by the tail…thats why im here trying to  soak up  some  good info…. but  my  experience on my  social media platforms    is   not what   we usually  talk about on here….  im  always hoping for  an expert with tons of store  clients   who are  facing  my issues….i have a business and payroll so  time is money to me….im  kind of  suprised  at how much effort   many  do  for so little  return…that  would  worry me  in  looking at an expert….. its  kind of a bubble imho… 

i think  judging   a social media persons expertize  by their   facebook page  would  be  kind of  bad….many  know   tons about  facebook and   have pitiful amounts of  followers on their own page…and  they could still be of  great help to a client , who is  in the   right business   for a good page……. facebook just doesnt  fit all businesses the same..

. @supereb i used to have more followers than grandma  mary…lol….and i  am a luddite in many ways….i think she has passed me  now…dang!!!

This is such an interesting debate and something I can really relate too.  I have used the term social media expert – however I tend to only use this when I have to (i.e. other people have said that I am rather than myself).

I don’t proclaim to be one as @Cynthia says above, there is no expert of anything, we’re all continually learning and let’s be honest social media is such an evolving subject that it certainly makes it harder for the “so called experts”.

I wrote a blog post a while back which had some very interesting comments on how to spot a social media expert here.

What equals expert depends on needs. In Social Media industry with so much self puffery it is insufficient in most industries to simply a self proclaimed expert; more is needed, for example a track record with quantifiable results. further the results need to have merit, did FaceBook likes create sell through? Does Twitter activity generate positive buzz about business within targeted demographic? 
That being said expert is in the eye of the beholder. The claimant should be willing to explain any self proclaimed titles. 

There is simply NO way you can be an expert. I’ve been working in social media realms for years and year and learning something new every. single. day. I can, however, and with some confidence, help educate and lead others. And if there is something that stumps me I know where to look for answers. Expert, nope. 

I agree with everyone who says social media is evolving, we still waiting to hear from the rise of web 3.0 that is predicted to source information before a user even knows it’s needed.