This is so great Tamar! It drives me insane when some people think social media is just another direct marketing channel. Social media marketing can work wonders to build brand awareness and generate customer loyalty, as long as it is done right. Fantastic!
Eric N.
· 1 year ago
Wow! So awesome to see a lot of thought went into this Tamar.
:) -- touches on a lot of things I contemplate every day!
Thank you!
Jason Kintzler
· 1 year ago
Wow, who needs bookmarks, this is great! Okay, now I'm bookmarking it. Thanks Tamar!
Wil Reynolds
· 1 year ago
Tamar, wow this is LONG, need to read it in a quiet place :)
Dugdale
· 1 year ago
I can't get over that photo of the beautiful stone work with wires running over it. Is that in Washington?
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Not sure, Dave. I know that Will Lion took a bunch of creative-commons licensed photographs and added really cool quotes to them.
KatFrench
· 1 year ago
I love your posts, Tamar, because they're SO thorough, but I also hate them because they're SO thorough... ;)
When I'm talking with clients about social media, I tend to call it "a horse that will pull a lot of different carts." I think as web 2.0 matures, fewer people working in social media will have to "be all things to all people" (although I do think a certain "jack of all trades" tendency will always be helpful because the learning curve never goes away).
Specialties in social media work are already developing. Online community managers are a slightly different breed than social PR folks, or bloggers, or people who are devoted to social news or folks who are widget and mashup fiends.
Some of the qualities noted carry through all these specialties, but some don't.
At any rate, another great, comprehensive post.
Paul
· 1 year ago
Brilliant, just a great, big, brilliant read. :)
Paul Stamatiou
· 1 year ago
Wow that's quite the hefty article there Tamar! Nice work.
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Thanks for the image tip, Paul. :)
BarbaraKB
· 1 year ago
Tamar, wonderful how you posed question to a *wide variety* of voices in the social media sphere. Thank you!
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
That was the goal, Barbara! Thanks! :)
Chetan
· 1 year ago
That is just an awesome list and a great read.. Very well written Tamar!
Tony Adam
· 1 year ago
Tamar, great post and even though it is long, it was a real easy read! It was also really cool reading all the different perspectives from the top social media names.
David Mihm
· 1 year ago
Tamar, what a WONDERFUL variety of experts you surveyed. I love the depth and the breadth of this piece. I love Michael Dorausch's line: "they typically bring a lot of value to the community. Thats the one thing I believe separates them from novices and newcomers to social media marketing."
Fantastic read...I smell a SEMMY... :D
Jeremy Toeman
· 1 year ago
First, good post, I think you did a great job pulling all this content together (even if I was snubbed - kidding).
As I read quote after quote, I couldn't help but feel they were all starting to sound the same. No offense to the individuals, since I'm pretty sure they weren't reading each others' content as they were writing, but my concern of all this was a distinct lack of traditional marketing skills as requirement.
I meet with many companies, big and small, and know a lot of marketing, PR, and social media people. The absolute best of the best, the A++ caliber people are the ones who know all three. Being a "social media expert" and forgetting the basics of traditional PR, such as review programs, positioning/messaging matrices, etc.
My strongest recommendation to anyone considering hiring a "social media expert" is to make sure they really understand marketing as a field. Social media is a subset, not a superset nor a different set.
Michael D
· 1 year ago
Excellent work Tamar. Glad you liked my comments David, a post like this is an example of what I mean. Unlike many other industries, the leaders aren't too busy to participate. They know that by giving, you get, and they continue to put in the energy, growing communities in the process.
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Jeremy, absolutely. But I'd argue that social media has actually opened doors for some into the marketing field. I'd say that knowledge of marketing is a definite requirement, but traditional PR know-how isn't necessarily a prerequisite. The playing field has changed.
And no, nobody I interviewed knew who would be included on this final list. It was all handled via private email (or in rare cases, IM).
Tibi Puiu
· 1 year ago
Ok, this has certainly been by far the longest read I've did on a blog in the past 2 months [?], but it was well worth it. The amount of insights and perspectives put into place, can certainly help virtually anyone make a profile of the perfect social media marketer and most of all provide a model for those seeking to expand their influences as social hubs.
Jeremy Toeman
· 1 year ago
Tamar - I like to think that it's "changing" more than it's "changed". For every social media marketing success story, there are plenty more failures. Same goes for PR, by the way - not trying to say it's better/worse.
My point is you cannot possibly reliably launch a company on a megascale with *just* social media marketing. This doesn't mean you as an individual must have a big PR database/rolodex, but you should have an understanding of it.
I think the best strategies are blended ones which comprise both old- and new-school techniques. Being ignorant of either just means the best possible job isn't getting done.
Garrett Pierson
· 1 year ago
Wonderful list Tamar and Thanks. I know from a fact that Social Media Marketing is a huge tool for not only me but my clients as well. I would like to think of myself as a Social Media Expert/Consultant and give some great value to my students through various channels, but these people above deserve to be on the list.
Oh, certainly, Jeremy. That's how you can attract an even larger audience. And you're 100% correct. However, some people may focus exclusively on social media marketing, which I don't think is necessarily a bad idea as long as they are not negating the benefits of traditional marketing.
Others may have moved on completely. I think this is an instance where YMMV (your mileage may vary); it depends on the goals of the campaign and the strength and effectiveness of the client-marketer relationship.
Web Success Diva
· 1 year ago
Excellent post!
Maria Reyes-McDavis
Gavin Mitchell
· 1 year ago
At the risk of being a "me too" - great post Tamar :)
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
You can take that risk. Thanks Gavin :)
nudgeme
· 1 year ago
Thanks Tamar for this thought provoking post, which I really enjoyed reading (and thanks to DoshDosh for pointing me here from Twitter). In the past I've been involved in traditional marketing and PR, which have definitely helped to inform my use of social media marketing in terms of having experience of networking and writing in a thought provoking (rather than salesy) way, but aside from that it's a whole different ball game, best summed up by one of your interviewees who says that 'conversation is King, content is just something to talk about' - spot on. And of course this very nature of social marketing means the PRs no longer have the same control of the conversation.
I look forward to reading future posts - thanks.
Julie Perry
· 1 year ago
A phenomenal read! Thank you to the experts for their contributions.
~Julie Perry
Jesse Kliza
· 1 year ago
Awesome post Tamar! Thanks for taking the time to compile this.
I would echo Chris Brogans point about the term "Social Media Marketer" being a temporary thing. In time, making use of social media will become a given, just like having a website.
At the very least, social media is forcing companies to be more engaged with their customers if they want to stay relevant. I look forward to the day when this trickles down to even the smallest of companies. This is one reason why I make a point to post about both the good and bad experiences I have with any business, especially small local companies.
Thanks again Tamar!
David Alston
· 1 year ago
Wow, wicked post Tamar. You put a lot of work into this one. Great to see the views of so many leaders in social media marketing all in one spot. Bookmarking this one for sure.
Cheers. David Alston
Meg
· 1 year ago
This is outstanding! I'll be tweeting it and reading it again....
Scott Fox, Author of Internet
· 1 year ago
Great post, Tamar. Nice collection of different perspectives from across the blogosphere.
The consensus that you have documented here toward contributing VALUE to a CONVERSATION is what really differentiates social media from broadcast/shotgun marketing.
Old school marketing/advertising pros (like those in the TV series Mad Men) would be mystified by the level of personal interaction and commitment to community demonstrated by today's best social marketers.
Pat Kitano
· 1 year ago
Like being at a social media roundtable... I extended the commentaries to develop an article on how to implement corporate social media strategy. Thank you!
Colonel Tribune
· 1 year ago
Just echoing the sentiment already on the comment board. Great post compiling thought from some of social media's top minds!
agathon12
· 1 year ago
BRAVA Ms. Weinberg. Outstanding in every regard. Requires that most rare of rare activities, a 2nd and perhaps 3rd read, with appropriate investigation spent checking out the 'gurus' that particularly intrigue one. I thank del.icio.us .com (and one of my network peeps) that I have found you. Continued success!
asp net shopping cart
· 1 year ago
Thanks so much for this awesome compilation. I'm definitely not the first person to say it, but my sincerity is genuine :)
Rudy from Trulia
· 1 year ago
Fantastic job Tamar!
My experience has taught me that it really comes down to relationships. It's that simple.
My top 7 Social Media Marketer traits are:
1. Live and breath your niche - Understand the culture and your audience - be a part of the community 2. Know your product or service inside and out 3. Everyone's Voice Matters - Respect others opinions 4. Be genuine in all your communications 5. Try new things - Communities and tools - stick with what works 6. Be mobile. Be real time. Be responsive. 7. Give more than you receive
I've had this minimized all day because I could see it was long and really wanted to absorb every piece of wisdom each person wrote.
The possibilities with social media is endless, but community is ultimately at the root of social media and that is exciting. People are what make companies, brands, and images, social media really brings that to life. Never have customers or collegues been able to really know others in business and in life the way they are able to today, thanks to social media.
It's all truly fascinating. Incredible read and so glad I waited until the end of the day so I could soak it all in without a single distraction!
Shahar Boyayan
· 1 year ago
Fascinating post! I think what makes a good social media marketer is knowing how to tell a story and how to listen to a story and how to pass along other people's stories
Hasan
· 1 year ago
Everyone has a point but I feel there is a lot yet to be explored.
Linda Margaret
· 1 year ago
In Europe, social media marketing is still catching up with the consumer. Our business is to offer software to measure and monitor the online media (mainstream and social) for different European regions and languages. More and more, however, we are also offering analysis and reports of the different online media to corporations interested in marketing through social media, but unsure of where to start. This post will be quite useful in addressing our customers' concerns. Thank you.
Steven Snell
· 1 year ago
Excellent collection Tamar. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
Katherine
· 1 year ago
There's a lot of good info here - Maki's perception seems to be a good one. I've stumbled it so I can find it again. I have a feeling I'll keep learning something new each time I read the post!
Kim Krause Berg (cre8pc)
· 1 year ago
Give your perfectionist-self a pat on the back, Tamar. Outstanding doesn't even cover the depth of this piece. It's one to take notes from. Congratulations!
Jenny Orr
· 1 year ago
I enjoed reading this post, especially the philosophical quotes. It has made me understand different aspects of social media. Thank you. I want to make a link to it from my blog on social networking http://facevaluebook.blogspot.com/
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Jenny, thanks, go for it. :)
Kieran Hawe
· 1 year ago
Some really good insight into social media marketing - from my perspective when talking about social media for a (big) business it comes down to 2 simple things. 1) understanding the technology / platform / service and 2) understanding the brand. First and foremost you have to understand the how, what and where of social media as just about everyone pointed out. However, there also needs to be a deep understanding of the brand in order to truly maximize a social media effort...who is the targeted audience, what are they looking for, how do we speak to them, etc.
Ed Shaz/ NextInstinct
· 1 year ago
Brian (CopyBlogger) was right, monster post!
Great job Tamar and colleagues! A classic.
Thanks for your insights, time, and energy! Will be shared, especially with students.
~Ed
Social Marketing Journal
· 1 year ago
This content is amazing! Definitely bookmarking... definitely passing this around.
Zay?flama
· 1 year ago
definitely passing this around. thanks
Zay?flama Hap?
· 1 year ago
Everyone has a point but I feel there is a lot yet to be thanks
usman
· 1 year ago
this detailed article is amazing and full of knowledge,great work
Arlene Yu
· 1 year ago
I'm puzzled. This is a poorly-edited, painfully repetitious compilation of statements by "social media marketers" marketing themselves, with a lead in and brief wrap up by Tamar. Many of these experts seem to know nothing about marketing as a discipline - they just have some familiarity with social media channels and think that means they can give marketing advice.
Wouldn't a 1500 word article written by Tamar that quotes these people, organizes their ideas, and provides desperately needed context been much more useful (and been worthy of the gushing praise in these comments?)
This post scares me - because it reminds me vividly of content from March 2000!
Tamar Weinberg
· 1 year ago
Arlene, sorry you feel this way. You're definitely in the minority, and that's fair; you're entitled to have an opinion! :)
Also, I'm not sure if you know many of these experts, but I chose a good chunk of them because they're darn talented at what they do and possess the marketing know-how in the real world as indicated by their work with clients and the "gushing praise" they actually get from clients. Perhaps it was the wording of my question that threw them off. Perhaps it was the fact that I solicited a relatively short answer, rather than a lengthy post (this wasn't a guest post and the email was specifically worded as "interview question"). Perhaps it's the fact that you can't throw all your cards out on one table and they won't share the secrets they *do* possess. Either way, I'm proud of the turnout of this piece and I'm not at all disappointed in the representation or in the way it was compiled.
ZaggedEdge
· 1 year ago
Great pictures in this post.
This is a great tip in itself,make your posts eyecatching!
Tom
· 1 year ago
Nice blog entry Tamar theres a ton of small online businesses that are able to compete online using effective social media marketing tactics. Theres a good social media firm to checkout as well www. viralmediapros . com. Many companies use this firm.
Oyuncu
· 1 year ago
Well, this very nice and wonderful.
Gerald Peoples, Jr.
· 1 year ago
Wow!! This is a great article that will shed light on the whole Social Media Marketing concept for many readers like myself! I suppose if I had a question about this form of marketing...it would be something like "Is it possible to generalize which social media marketing outlet works best for certain types of market goals?"
I am one of those that long to change the world! I want those who listen to Urban music to listen to Urban Gospel. It's positive, it's 'bangin' and most importantly, it saves souls!
Jessica Skewes
· 10 months ago
This is a great read! I think it is important to help form a solid definition of what a "social media strategist" aka ."..marketer" aka etc. does and how they can be defined as individuals. Here, at Core3 Solutions, my title is "Interactive Specialist". I am in charge of all social media portals, analytics, SEA and SEO. But when we start a partnership with a client, we always begin at the beginning. We sit and collaborate with the client to devise set on online goals and strategies. We will research audience groups, competitors and the client's current online presence. From there we can begin to form an all encompassing online strategy and the key indicators of success metrics for ROI.
Thanks again for the in-depth interviews with others in the industry!
social media marketing
· 9 months ago
wicked good looking, witty, charming, brilliant...
All Comments
:) -- touches on a lot of things I contemplate every day!
Thank you!
When I'm talking with clients about social media, I tend to call it "a horse that will pull a lot of different carts." I think as web 2.0 matures, fewer people working in social media will have to "be all things to all people" (although I do think a certain "jack of all trades" tendency will always be helpful because the learning curve never goes away).
Specialties in social media work are already developing. Online community managers are a slightly different breed than social PR folks, or bloggers, or people who are devoted to social news or folks who are widget and mashup fiends.
Some of the qualities noted carry through all these specialties, but some don't.
At any rate, another great, comprehensive post.
Very well written Tamar!
Fantastic read...I smell a SEMMY... :D
As I read quote after quote, I couldn't help but feel they were all starting to sound the same. No offense to the individuals, since I'm pretty sure they weren't reading each others' content as they were writing, but my concern of all this was a distinct lack of traditional marketing skills as requirement.
I meet with many companies, big and small, and know a lot of marketing, PR, and social media people. The absolute best of the best, the A++ caliber people are the ones who know all three. Being a "social media expert" and forgetting the basics of traditional PR, such as review programs, positioning/messaging matrices, etc.
My strongest recommendation to anyone considering hiring a "social media expert" is to make sure they really understand marketing as a field. Social media is a subset, not a superset nor a different set.
And no, nobody I interviewed knew who would be included on this final list. It was all handled via private email (or in rare cases, IM).
My point is you cannot possibly reliably launch a company on a megascale with *just* social media marketing. This doesn't mean you as an individual must have a big PR database/rolodex, but you should have an understanding of it.
I think the best strategies are blended ones which comprise both old- and new-school techniques. Being ignorant of either just means the best possible job isn't getting done.
Garrett
YourSEOMentor.com
Others may have moved on completely. I think this is an instance where YMMV (your mileage may vary); it depends on the goals of the campaign and the strength and effectiveness of the client-marketer relationship.
Maria Reyes-McDavis
I look forward to reading future posts - thanks.
~Julie Perry
I would echo Chris Brogans point about the term "Social Media Marketer" being a temporary thing. In time, making use of social media will become a given, just like having a website.
At the very least, social media is forcing companies to be more engaged with their customers if they want to stay relevant. I look forward to the day when this trickles down to even the smallest of companies. This is one reason why I make a point to post about both the good and bad experiences I have with any business, especially small local companies.
Thanks again Tamar!
Cheers.
David Alston
The consensus that you have documented here toward contributing VALUE to a CONVERSATION is what really differentiates social media from broadcast/shotgun marketing.
Old school marketing/advertising pros (like those in the TV series Mad Men) would be mystified by the level of personal interaction and commitment to community demonstrated by today's best social marketers.
My experience has taught me that it really comes down to relationships. It's that simple.
My top 7 Social Media Marketer traits are:
1. Live and breath your niche - Understand the culture and your audience - be a part of the community
2. Know your product or service inside and out
3. Everyone's Voice Matters - Respect others opinions
4. Be genuine in all your communications
5. Try new things - Communities and tools - stick with what works
6. Be mobile. Be real time. Be responsive.
7. Give more than you receive
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia.com
http://www.retaggr.com/Card/trulia
The possibilities with social media is endless, but community is ultimately at the root of social media and that is exciting. People are what make companies, brands, and images, social media really brings that to life. Never have customers or collegues been able to really know others in business and in life the way they are able to today, thanks to social media.
It's all truly fascinating. Incredible read and so glad I waited until the end of the day so I could soak it all in without a single distraction!
I want to make a link to it from my blog on social networking
http://facevaluebook.blogspot.com/
Great job Tamar and colleagues! A classic.
Thanks for your insights, time, and energy!
Will be shared, especially with students.
~Ed
Wouldn't a 1500 word article written by Tamar that quotes these people, organizes their ideas, and provides desperately needed context been much more useful (and been worthy of the gushing praise in these comments?)
This post scares me - because it reminds me vividly of content from March 2000!
Also, I'm not sure if you know many of these experts, but I chose a good chunk of them because they're darn talented at what they do and possess the marketing know-how in the real world as indicated by their work with clients and the "gushing praise" they actually get from clients. Perhaps it was the wording of my question that threw them off. Perhaps it was the fact that I solicited a relatively short answer, rather than a lengthy post (this wasn't a guest post and the email was specifically worded as "interview question"). Perhaps it's the fact that you can't throw all your cards out on one table and they won't share the secrets they *do* possess. Either way, I'm proud of the turnout of this piece and I'm not at all disappointed in the representation or in the way it was compiled.
This is a great tip in itself,make your posts eyecatching!
I am one of those that long to change the world! I want those who listen to Urban music to listen to Urban Gospel.
It's positive, it's 'bangin' and most importantly, it saves souls!
I think it is important to help form a solid definition of what a "social media strategist" aka ."..marketer" aka etc. does and how they can be defined as individuals. Here, at Core3 Solutions, my title is "Interactive Specialist". I am in charge of all social media portals, analytics, SEA and SEO. But when we start a partnership with a client, we always begin at the beginning. We sit and collaborate with the client to devise set on online goals and strategies. We will research audience groups, competitors and the client's current online presence. From there we can begin to form an all encompassing online strategy and the key indicators of success metrics for ROI.
Thanks again for the in-depth interviews with others in the industry!
Jon Mac
a social media marketer