Unfortunately in the field of social media consulting, the barrier to entry is low. People with little experience and expertise can claim to be a social media guru/expert/wizard/ninja/etc.
The other day, I received an email from an obvious pretender. He claims he is able to “grow and manage social media communities for PR/media relations and marketing companies” and “(partner) with PR and marketing companies to build social media communities for their customers.”
Even more laughable, he cites as a case study, “my team currently is launching a network of what we call hyper, hyper local Facebook-based community news sites. It took only 28 days to gather 1,000 page likes in a relatively small market.”
One thing I talk about in the social media class that I teach is that followers, fans, etc. are vanity stats. Higher numbers do NOT matter on their own. What matters is what your followers, fans, etc. are doing for your business. Are they buying your products? Are they attending your events? Are they signing a petition? Are they referring new customers?
Thus, promises of higher web traffic, more Facebook Page fans, more Twitter followers, more Instagram followers, more YouTube Channel subscribers, etc., are a sure sign of a fake “expert.”
Sadly, these amateurs continue to trick clients, which is an unethical business practice. I forwarded this email to several of my colleagues, who shared my concern that these pretenders continue to exist.
In case you’re wondering, this pretender is a journalist who is launching a “social media marketing firm.” I shudder when thinking about what damage this firm will do to the credibility of this profession.
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