And you call yourself an expert??

Caroline McCarthy has a great post today on CNet's "the social" blog called Marketing: Social media's hidden bubble. Her post details the plight of the infamous "Social Media Expert". (Yes, we've all met a few.) Caroline reminds us how these experts enjoyed a sudden rise to fame in 2008 as companies and agencies everywhere scrambled to hire their social media savior. Now it seems these same experts are struggling to find employment and keep their expert status among a society of much more socially-savvy folks. I agree with Caroline that the "Social Media Expert" is quickly heading the way of the dodo, however I'd argue that there are a number of companies who need guidance through the social media universe from a strategic perspective. As Caroline says, almost 50% of social media marketing campaigns fail. The difference in the 50% that do succeed? In my opinion it's strategy. When it comes to social media, you can't afford to throw 10 million spitballs at the wall and see what sticks. Where are the conversations that matter to your business taking place? What is the tone of those conversations and who's leading the discussions? In order to have a successful social media campaign you have to start with the basics and then build a sound strategy that maps to your objectives. If you need help figuring out your social media strategy, find someone with strong social media experience who understands your business and how a smart, strategic social media campaign can help your business grow.

Being an expert on something is great, but how can you be an expert on something that is changing every 3 seconds and is different for every single company?