Social Media is for Experts Only. Do Not Attempt!

Please stand back. I'm about to adminster social media expertise.

Social media content writing is not rocket science -- it's far more difficult. And it shouldn't be attempted by non-experts or someone may lose and eye. Or that's what "social media experts" will tell you. And they'll also tell you that they're social media experts right from the get go.

Social media is just public relations, advertising, sales and marketing packaged into bite-sized pieces. So whoever handles those functions should be the same people who handle your social networking.I spend much of my day involved with social media and have for about three years now. I create strategies, write content, link efforts over various social networks, monitor and track mentions, identify influencers, and so on. The industry is still forming and changing so we are all perpetual students. The problem is social media hasn't been around long enough to create experts. Seasoned communications professional, certainly. But social media expert? It's like saying you're a Justin Bieber historian.

I might go as far as calling myself a social media guru as that sounds a tad more humble. And humility has a lot to do with social media. After all, it's not anti-social media. Or Upper crust media. The more humble you are the better your results. You like me more already, don't you? I can tell. ;)

No social media is not rocket science, but it is a science with formulas designed to make people open your email, click on your tweet or share. Want 5 Social Media Pro tips for free? Steal that last sentence. Certain phrases are more likely to get attention and are best when put in question format. Most of us know that the word "free" increases interest but so does "How to" and "Learn more."  Also quantifying items like "3 tricks" or "Top 10" works great. And yes, even  "expert" or "pro" adds a sense of importance.

Sometimes sentiment can trump content. Your tweets shouldn't be mundane but they don't always need to be Earth shattering. That's a bitter pill for marketing and public relations professionals to swallow. We don't send out press releases unless it's real news. But real news in social media has been redefined. So if it's not expert driven why the hesistation? According to a new study, most companies are not still not capitalizing on social media.

So in short grab the attention, be humble, and redefine what is news. Like this article for example. Before social media was around, this would have been bounced back at me by any editor worth their salt as being light on content. But today, it's being read and the insight supplied revered by thousands. But then again, what else would you expect from an expert?

Article first published as Social Media is for Experts Only. Do Not Attempt! on Technorati.