Interns or VPs: Should Passion Trump Experience?

A while back, I held the position that interns should clearly not tweet on behalf of a company. And if companies are looking to hire social media interns, what should the criterion be? Jay Baer of the Convince and Convert blog brings up a valuable argument about the issue of being passionate – as opposed to my formerly held view: experience.

I’d still be biting my fingers to suggest that an intern should be the social media point person or spokeperson, which is why I’ve bawked at several companies hiring ‘social media’ interns instead of holistic learning and involvement recurring at all levels.

BUT if you are passionate about social media, should that be more important than experience? Do interactive marketing VPs know more about site infrastructure and less about building conversations online ? Are there search-marketing analysts who can provide sound strategies on e-commerce distribution channels and not necessarily sound strategies on how to build a Facebook Page that will act as a mechanism to promote FREE product giveaways? Do C-suite level executives understand the importance of FREE STUFF in general anyway? Southwest Airlines does. Coke does. Why do they get it and so many companies don’t? Who’s running the show and does that really matter?

In the summer of last year, I learned more from the online behaviors of one of Axiom’s interns who had a real passion for social media than I have from listening to a VP of Digital Marketing for a leading integrated PR/advertising agency. While this intern had some experience, he didn’t boast 20 years like the other guy did. He just had passion and that was enough to really listen to him.

Suddenly, 20 years of the baby boomer methods become somewhat obsolete and Gen Y soon take the lead as the most sought-after contributors to the social media space that... actually know how to keep fans on a Facebook Page, provide comment-geared content for a blog, acquire 2,000 followers on Twitter by simply talking more off-brand than on-brand – a strategy that is looked down upon by most experienced brand marketers. So regarding experience, I stand corrected when it comes to truly knowing social communities.

Who are we listening to now that social media is never going to go away? Gen Y interns or baby boomer VPs?

Cashing in on Social Media Ambiguity: What Every Company Should Know Before Signing on the Dotted Line

A while back, I wrote a post regarding how monetization was an ambiguous area, and while ambiguity seems like a negative thing, it’s reaping handsome rewards as an unsaid associate term of social media.

What do I mean by that exactly? The term social media has yet to really be defined (Honestly, ask any person and each will give you a different answer as to what social media is), so a lot of PR/marketing type folks are charging an arm and a leg simply for comment moderation, hashtag set-ups on Twitter, and my personal favorite—editorial calendars for blogs. The selling point: brand engagement. Engagement. Ah-- music to a client’s ears that has been trying to integrate social media ever since BlendTec increased sales 700%.

While a need to develop social media 101 kits for internal communication purposes is certainly legitimate, I think these add-ons (such as the ones mentioned above) are really just a way to a guaranteed long-term retainer with the client. The advantage is knowing enough, because it’s impossible to know it all due to social media’s continuing evolution, and that's a good thing for cash flow.

Funny enough—people do claim to know it all. We call them social media “experts,” and in my opinion, they’re overrated and they overcharge. Social media isn’t black and white like ad equivalency rates; there is a multitude of ways to measure, to define measurement, and to put a price tag to it. Fortunately, clients waver on the higher side when integrated, and that’s a good thing for PR/marketing agency revenue.

Overcharging isn’t anything new to building investment estimates. It happens ALL the time, BUT I’d say that social media experts are indeed the biggest perpetrators of this.

What companies can do to avoid social media overcharge

• Assign one person internally to social media comprehension, integration practices, and overall research.

• Read social media blogs by leading interactive and emerging media contributors that offer up wisdom against social media experts, such as Amber Naslund, Jason Baer, or Sarah Evans.

• Investigate the person who’s pitching you their understanding of social media. If you visit their self-titled Website and their Web bio says “expert”…. RUN.

• Set up a month-by-month project pay and base compensation on the results. After all, the focus is not engagement, but engagement that leads to click-throughs, positive commentary, and increased Web sales or those earthly cash register rings.
  

What do you think of social media ambiguity? What are some other ways companies can avoid pitfalls or ambiguity traps set by experts?

Thanks for reading!
Tim