I used to joke with my Information Technology (IT) buddies that they had the best job in the world.

• They could tell us anything
• Most of the world wouldn’t know if they were right or not

Well, step aside IT.

Meet the new “best job” – social media expert.

Hot New Job

With a 9 percent unemployment rate, we welcome any new job opportunity.

Indeed.com, a search engine for jobs, reports the following.

• The number of social media job postings increased 600 percent between 2005 to 2010
• Job descriptions containing “social media” tripled in November 2010, compared with November 2009

What Makes an Expert?

Human Resource (HR) professionals have challenging jobs.

• They deal with the not-always-sunny side of humans
• They must keep up with labor and employee benefits laws
• They are responsible for staffing and recruiting at all levels

How do HR professionals identify a social media expert?

I love this description from The State of Social Media Jobs —

“The ideal recruits will have to be good communicators, a bit geeky and demonstrate a thorough response to customer service.”

Maybe this is IT all over again.

Bring in the Experts

Of course, businesses could —

• Outsource the social media activity
• Transfer that responsibility from HR to Marketing

Whatever route a business takes, the question remains —

What makes someone a social media expert?

• There is a difference between doing and strategy
• A great communicator is not always a great strategist

Looking for Mr. Goodblog

Lest you think this is a pitch for my services, allow me this moment —

I am not a social media expert.

But then, you probably know that.

• I am a small business owner, like many of you
• I get overwhelmed by social media, like many of you
• I need help separating the impersonators from the experts, like many of you

A Simple Checklist

Since I like to keep it simple, here is my checklist for social media experts.

1. Do you listen?

It might surprise you that the first on the list has nothing to do with social media skills.

• Don’t drown me out with solutions
• Don’t shout at me with long landing pages for the next great course

So much for the Don’ts – here are the Dos —

• Do get to know me and my business (I understand social media is a good tool for that)
• Do show me you listened by your recommended solutions
• Do show me you understand how important my business is to me

2. What makes you different?

Assuming they passed the first test, we know one thing that makes them different – they listen.

But, here are a few more good things for the wish list.

• Share your passion – let me know about you and your business
• Share your results – warts and all
• Share what you learned and teach me

3. Now, prove it

• Be responsive
• Be involved
• Help solve my problems

Doesn’t it make you pause when a purported expert in social media is less than, well – social?

When it comes right down to it, the above description was spot on.

You need —

• An excellent communicator
• A bit of a geek
• And someone who truly understands customer service

What do you look for in a social media expert?

Elvis Impersonator i-Stock photo credit File #: 74463

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