Image by luc legay via FlickrSearch linkedin, you will find a lot of social media consultants, guru’s, and others with the title “social media” something. While some are good, some are proven able to help you out, the horror stories are just now starting to come out about how social media consultants, gurus, strategists, or otherwise have burned and ripped off companies in their quest to ride the next big wave.

“How you find expertise is a big problem,” Fitton said. “You could go to a very established advertising or PR agency, and if they don’t have that expertise they’re going to say as much crap as a carpetbagger who’s trying to be a ’social media expert.’” One digital-strategies czar at a small media company told CNET News that a while back, before she was brought on board, her employer had enlisted a freelance “social media expert” to give the company a presence on Web 2.0’s most buzzworthy communities. It was a disaster, she said. The consultant charged $200 an hour for what was effectively a bunch of Facebook fan pages and a Twitter account that most full-time staff wasn’t particularly sure how to use. The final bill tallied almost $40,000. Source: CNet

In the Snake Oil article I wrote last week, it is hard to tell when someone is pulling the wool over your eyes, they talk a good talk; they know all the right buzzwords. You have to stop and ask yourself if they really understand social media. If you are shopping for a social media anything, think about these questions to ask them before you get into the hiring phase.

Questions to ask your next social media guru

1. How long on average does it take a company to build an effective presence on the internet and social networking sites? If they tell you anything like “90 days or less” do not go any further with them, this is snake oil. Social networking is like any other marketing you do on the internet, it will take a while to have an effective presence on the internet. If they start going into a year or more (depending on the company, the product, and the clients ability to continue with the program) then they are start getting more realistic. Based on my experience, it takes at least a year to be noticed unless you are Dell, Apple, or Microsoft (any large company with an already established brand and internet presence), two years would be more like it if you are a small to medium sized company without an effective marketing or internet presence.

2. Who are the thought leaders in my industry? The guru should know who are the popular bloggers by industry, or at least have done their homework enough to know who they are. If they do not, or they say “Robert Scoble” and you are not in technology of some form, well time to pass on them. Industries have their own thought leaders, and it is simple to do the research to find out who they are. If they know who they are, they know where to start doing more research, they know where to start looking, and they know who to engage with initially. If they do not know this, they are not ready to help you out, they have not done their homework, and this could be bad for you to commit until they know them, can show you, and have an engagement plan.

3. Are they using the tools, ask them to show you their blog, their twitter, their LinkedIn , their Facebook, their friend feed, their social median, their digg, and all the other systems they tie into. Ask them in-depth questions about how well this worked for them, what they learned, how that differed from their expectations. If they are not using the tools, or they do not know how they work, or have no personal or at least empirical information about what has been successful and what has not been successful based on their own experience, then it is time to move along now.

4. Ask them for specific case studies in what has worked and what has not worked. A social media guru will know what has worked under what circumstances. As they learn about your industry, they should already have an idea of what has and has not worked. If they do not, time to ask them to leave.

5. Ask them for references, I know this is a new industry, but asking them for references and then following up on those is something you have to do. Go over their work with their previous clients, go over the advice they offer on line, see what they are willing to give away for free to find out if it is worth paying for. If they have no references, not even their own work, then it is time to show them the door on the way out.

There is a lot of good information on the internet already on what works and what does not work in social media. Just because someone knows many buzzwords, does not mean that they understand this business. They need to come in with a plan, a plan that can be modified on the fly as needs dictate, with the willingness to train people on how to use and support these systems. They must come in with good standards for engagement, understanding of policy and process, as well as their own experience in social media to back them up.

If they have none of the things mentioned here, or do not have the ability to show what they have already done even if it is for themselves, then go find someone else. There are experts out there; you just have to make sure the person you are talking to really is one.

Tags: social media, expert, guru, snake oil, sales person, careful