Clients, Are You Letting Your Social Media “Expert” Take Advantage Of You?
April 17, 2009 – 9:03 am | by Daryl Tay
Shill Alert
Awhile back I was talking to a friend who I went to school with, and she was telling me about a social media training session by an “expert” who was teaching them how to use social media to monitor their brand. This apparently covered the usual Google Alerts, as well as some of the more popular forums here in Singapore. So I asked the obvious question: “When’re you going to start participating?”
“Oh. We have to pay more for training for engagement.”
Say what?
I’m definitely not against having training for engagement. It’s way too easy to do the wrong thing when commenting on a blog, using Twitter, using Facebook or just replying on a forum. Not to mention there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for participation, and it’ll have to be customised to fit your company’s needs, which will differ from industry to industry, and even within industries, between companies.
Here’s the thing though. If I were an agency or a self-proclaimed “expert” (a term I really don’t like), I’d love it if a company contacts me and doesn’t include a request for engagement in the “training package”. Great for greed, great for money.
It’s like going to an agency and asking for something “viral” just because it’s the latest buzzword, but not having an inkling what it’s actually about, and when the agency comes back to you with an idea which is far from viral, you won’t know any better and have to take their word for it. Do you really want to take that kind of risk with your money these days?
So I think as a client, do yourself a favour and do some research on what your agency should be offering you and what you should be asking for. And if you don’t know enough and don’t have the time to know about, at least bring someone on board in your company who can tell you when your agency or “expert” is obviously shilling you.
Tags: agency, brand monitoring, buzzword, clients, engagement training, facebook, forums, google alerts, inline engagement, monitoring your brand, one size fits all, participating on forums, participation online, risk, shill, Singapore, social media expert, social media monitoring, twitter, viral
7 Responses to “Clients, Are You Letting Your Social Media “Expert” Take Advantage Of You?”
By John Kerr on Apr 17, 2009 | Reply
Great post Daryl – you’re getting a real point-of-view in your posts, keep it up!
By liana on Apr 17, 2009 | Reply
Totally agree. I think before a company/executive jumps on the latest social media bandwagon, it is important to observe and listen in to see if it is something that you or your company want to be associated with. Hearing someone talk about it is also different from experiencing it yourself! And no matter how knowledgeable the agency is, he/she will never understand totally what makes your company tick and what are the do’s/don’ts of your company policies.
Good reminder, Daryl!
By Adam Green on Apr 17, 2009 | Reply
I’m confused. You imply that a company is being ripped off by being taught how monitor first, without engagement. Then you say, “It’s way too easy to do the wrong thing when commenting on a blog, using Twitter, using Facebook or just replying on a forum.”
It seems like the responsible thing it to teach a client how to monitor using simple, free tools, like Google Alerts, but have them leave the commenting up to an outside professional, or an in-house person who has really studied how to do it.
By Daryl Tay on Apr 17, 2009 | Reply
@John: Thanks!
@Liana: Well at least for you, you’re in good hands =)
@Adam Green: Right I’m saying the two should come together because both monitoring and engagement requires training. But, the client need to know this and ask for this, to prevent being blindsided with “oh engagement costs you extra”. Who they decide to actually do the engagement, whether their agency or someone in-house, is entirely up to them. But they should be aware of the steps up front.
By Adam Green on Apr 18, 2009 | Reply
Ok. I agree with that. The client needs to know this before they start. They shouldn’t think that monitoring will get them through the whole process. If anything, just monitoring can be counter productive, because they get all worked up about what they find, without knowing how to react.