Social media expert or phony? SEO companies abound these days. And with business owners having to attend to their company affairs, it’s only reasonable to farm out the workload to an “expert” optimization company. After all, it’s pragmatic. There simply isn’t enough time in the day to tend to business and learn search optimization. Not to mention all the incidentals that come with it, like social media marketing.
But how is it you know that your SEOer is the real deal? Aside from testimonials on their website from other customers, what can you use to qualify a social media expert? Especially before your business commits to a long term social media marketing contract?
What Makes a Social Media Expert
Aside from the obvious definition, a social media expert is a person or team who are intimately familiar with not only social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, but who can readily identify and target certain demographics for maximum social media optimization. It’s simply not enough to just know how to customize a profile, but how to build an audience. And that’s the ultimate goal of a social media expert. A person or team who builds a loyal following around a brand.
In fact, this person or team ought to be successful enough at social media optimization that it becomes a significant metric in your analytics or what is known as “referral traffic”. It’s the proof that people are finding and following your business from social media optimization.
Social Media Expert Qualifications
When trying to find an individual or firm which offers social media marketing, there are certain red flags you should look for. Some of them are patently obvious, while others are a bit more subtle. Here are some things you ought to take notice of when hiring a social media marketing firm:
- The “social media expert” has little to no following of his or her own.
- He or she likes to use buzz words but never really explains what they mean. Failure to break down esoteric language and not taking time to discuss the ins-and-outs of social media optimization is a big red flag.
- Their Twitter and Facebook pages are littered with “auto links”. These are easy to identify because they will appear on the profile with just a link. Conspicuously absence will be discussions and replies.
- There isn’t a concerted effort to tag social media with other metrics or incorporate it into calls to action. If a supposed social media expert treats social platforms as islands in the breeze, it’s a bad sign.
- The social media optimization firm doesn’t understand or explain how it will incorporate social media into other marketing endeavors like webinars, television, print and radio advertising, email and live events.
- He or she can’t integrate social media training into your company’s employee learning procedures. If you’re striving for a large audience, there’s just no way one so-called social media expert can handle it alone.
Like hiring any other professional, take the time to do your homework before signing on with a social media marketing company. Check out their clientele. Are they building a community for other businesses? Check potential social media optimization firms with the Better Business Bureau. And get recommendations from fellow business owners. If a social media expert gives you a list of references, follow up and phone them.
If your business needs more visibility and wants professional search engine optimization services, then contact us for a free consultation. We’ll take the time to answer your questions and discuss how we can craft and execute a campaign that’s right for your business.
