It’s entirely possible that this post is filled with envy and narcissism. But I don’t think so.

This topic has been brewing in my mind for some time, and yesterday, I arrived at a point at which my thoughts crystallized and I could make sense out of what I was thinking.

My point: I hate social media bullshit artists. As a practitioner, it is getting harder to teach internal and external clients the skills to distinguish what is helpful, concrete advice and what is self-serving of shallow counsel. This frustrates me enormously because some high-profile names pollute and dominate the space with pontifications and advice that I feel is at times, self-serving and at others, a firm grasp of the obvious. This makes it SO much harder to have solid advice sink in when a client’s response might be “Well, [person here] has written four books and was the keynote at BlogWorld Expo. Why should I listen to you?”

I’ll tell you why: because I am not a bullshit artist.

Could I have envy that so-called “A-Listers” write books, get huge speaking fees and make a bazillion dollars a year? Sure. But again, I’m content with my place in the world of social media advice but am frustrated that some big names make it harder for the rest of us who try to offer actionable advice. Recently, I was horrified to read a blog post in which an A-Lister posted his normal speaking fees, and the cost of one speech – ONE SPEECH – could easily outstrip the annual salary of a junior social media worker bee in a smaller market.

I have to offer a caveat, and it is a big one: I am writing a book so point the finger at me with many of the same criticisms that I will level here. Here’s the difference, though: I am not trying to sell more books (it’s not even out yet), but an important part of the book is to attempt to help up-and-coming social media practitioners distinguish between those who are smart and they can learn from, and those who I think are phoneys and bullshit artists.

The best advice that I can give here is a combination of my own ruminations, those of my colleagues and friends in a Facebook group (you know who you are) and specifically what my friend and author of “The Like Economy,” Brian Carter pointed out. When starting out or hiring someone to help formulate a social media strategy would be to ask them:

• In the recent past, what accomplishments can you point to that you have achieved for others? The unspoken point here is, aside from writing books, counting your Twitter followers and crowing about your speaking engagements, what have you actually done that has helped others achieve their social media communications objectives? And how have you measured the success?
• What types of clients have you served? Again, many offer case studies about helping Fortune 500 companies (or at least speaking at their events), but the majority of companies in this country are small or medium-sized enterprises. Is the strategic advice that you give applicable to all companies, and does the difference lay in the tactics? Most companies don’t have multi-million dollar budgets to throw at social media. When I was teaching, the fixation of texts and Harvard Business Review articles to focus on Fortune 500 companies missed a critical point: most people will NOT end up working there. They will end up at much smaller organizations and need advice on how to make it work there.
• Finally, is there as much listening as there is pontificating? I spent nearly 15 years in the agency world, and through practice (and mistakes), I learned to listen to clients and tease out what is was that they were attempting to accomplish through the use of social media. Start with the client’s communications objectives. Some more recognized names go on about the latest, shiny tool, but one size does not fit all. Nor does one strategy or one tactic. And tenting ones fingers and saying “engagement” over and over again serves only to pollute the space in which many of us operate. It makes it harder: damn harder.

So yeah, I’m writing a book and have pimped it here. I am at best, a B-minus Lister, but in my career (or for most of it) I have tried to be a good listener, stay on top of what is new and interesting in social media and offer practical, actionable advice to clients. Not sell books. Not trying to build my “personal brand.” Not increase my Klout score. And certainly not crow about what I charge for people to come listen to me.

Am I envious? Not really.

I’m disgusted.

Mark

Image:  Shark Bait Shirts.

©2012 intersection of online and offline. All Rights Reserved.

Cross-post from the book Web site:

What You Need to Think About Before Making the Jump

Whether you are graduating from college or considering a career change, consider that, in order to be successful in both the short and long-term, you’ll need to make a lot of people happy:  both internal and external clients.  Let’s spend some time discussing how to make these internal and external clients happy – and keep them that way.

Tips for making internal clients happy

More

©2012 intersection of online and offline. All Rights Reserved.

I am posting this tomorrow on my other blog, Starting a Career in Social Media, but it’s good. So good that I am posting it here today.  So if you subscribe to both (which you should), get over it.

Today’s post comes from (with permission) from my friend, Antonia Harler, who is one of the up-and-coming rising stars in social media.  I interviewed Antonia for the book, but she was kind enough to let me share a great post of hers, “5 hard truths about working in social media.”  It’s like Antonia:  honest, smart and fun.

Here goes: 5 hard truths about working in social media

I knew I wanted to work in social media for quite a while before I actually started my job. I envisioned what a social media job would entail and quite liked what I came up with. A combination of creativity, people & strategy. And while, yes, a social media job does in fact combine all of these things the reality and my vision are worlds apart. (Yes, I do love my job nonetheless.)

When people find out how I went from jobless to employed, they usually ask me what they should do to find a job in social media. And while many of them have a lot of passion and natural talent, there are just as many who are a bit too dreamy and haven’t really thought about their choice. I was dreamy, but I did actually think my decision through. At the same time, however, I jumped into the unknown because no-one told me what the reality looks like, which is precisely why I’m going to tell you some tough truths about working in social media.

Social media by itself doesn’t work!

I don’t work for a social media firm. I work for a PR consultancy, which has expanded into the digital sector. But the traditional stuff is still all there. It didn’t disappear and social is an addition to everything that’s been going on for years. My background isn’t in PR so you can imagine that it’s not always easy. I want and need to learn how PR works. From scratch. And that’s just it. Social media is never JUST social media. You’ll have to learn many things that you may not necessarily be interested in to make it work for your company or clients.

The job will follow you home!

Social media is constant. And while you may know that, you really don’t until you work in social media. People don’t stop talking when you leave the office at 6. In fact, that’s usually when they start talking. You have to learn how to deal with time differences, constant monitoring and engaging. If you are anything like me you’ll have a tough time ignoring your beeping phone or the constant stream of Emails. You’ll keep thinking about strategies, updates, monitoring etc after you leave the office at night.

Social media equals a sh*t load of research!

Before you do anything remotely connected to social media, you’ll do a lot of reading. A lot of googling. A lot of combing through directories and statistics followed by a whole lot more reading. And once you are done with all the reading, you start to analyse what you just read which then, somewhere down the line, evolves into a strategy. Then eventually, you’ll put the strategy into practice which, again, is followed by a lot of research and analysis. Until you start over.

Working in social media isn’t just fun and games!

Social media is SOO much fun, you say? Well it is, until it isn’t. You have to think a lot. Especially about wording. The way you say things in your private life may not be right for your client/company. You’ll have to adapt your writing style. Your way of thinking. And *actually* do some work. It’s not just about playing around on Facebook all day. It’s rather the complete opposite.

You need to stay on the ball!

Social media evolves. Constantly. You can’t afford to miss out on these developments because they may be good for your client. How do you do that? Through reading. As you can see, there’s a pattern.

This post isn’t meant as a discouragement to anyone who wants to work in social media. It should rather help you evaluate your decision and make it easier to decide whether it’s right for you. There’s no shame in it being wrong for you. Not everyone is made for it. It’s always better to find out sooner rather than later.

BTW, have you become a fan of SocialGlitz on Facebook yet?

©2012 intersection of online and offline. All Rights Reserved.

I love to play professional matchmaker, especially for my former students. If you have glanced to the right on this blog, you’ll see that I have three .rss feeds of public relations or new media jobs.   And I suppose that I am lucky in that I get contacted by recruiters with some frequency.  Many of these contacts, however, are downright irritating.

I am happy at my job and find it fulfilling, but sometimes by networking, you can help people – people that you might need to have a relationship with one day to help you.  I have written a couple of times about the candidate side of the recruiting process at Fleishman-Hillard and The Bivings Group, but this one is a real burr under my saddle.

Sloppy, careless recruiting.  And it happens A LOT.

Today, I got the latest in a series of poorly formatted, clumsy recruiting and networking attempts.  Not the first one. I have edited out the agency name, but it is one of the big ones.  Let’s call this one “Recruiter A”:

XXX Chicago is seeking a VP Crisis..would you know anyone?  Have you ever int’d with XXX.

Where to start?  If you want to take the time to offer your company up as a great place to work and spend time with me so I can help you, you might want to avoid abbreviations – and use punctuation.  Maybe I am just being cranky, but I am not sure what “int’d” is.  And again, it might just be me, but abbreviating in an email tells me a) you spend way to much time recruiting on Twitter or b) you are WAY busy – too busy to spell out words.  Or spend time to do quality recruiting/representing your company.

Here’s a great example of a recruiting email I got a couple of weeks ago.  Let’s call this one “Recruiter B.”

Hi Mark,

My name is XXX and I am the US Recruitment Manager for XXX.  I was doing some research and came across your profile on LinkedIn and wanted to reach out in regards to a senior level digital media strategist position we have open for our XXX Digital Media Group.  You can read more about us at XXX.  We are looking for someone to join our D.C. office that has strong experience with creating digital and social media campaigns for clients in the public affairs, issues, advocacy and crisis space.  You can actually read about the position at XXX.

I think your backround [Mark's note: typo forgiven] working with the XXX along with your experience XX and XX would make you a great candidate for the position and I would love the opportunity to speak with you further.  Thanks for your time Mark and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
XX

Recruiter B’s email above makes me want to contact them or help match them to someone I know.  Nice email = nice results.  Recruiter A,  I emailed back simply because I know the person who runs the DC office.  And got a one line response back after I sent a couple of ideas.  #Fail.

I am flattered when someone takes the time to reach out to me for a job.  Even more so when they do their homework and read my blog.  It’s a nice touch.  I worked in the private sector for 15 years on the agency side and know a bunch of people, so I am happy to help – I love that matchmaking.  But my time is as valuable as you make it;  if I am one of 100+ emails you send out in one day, it shows. I will know it and other candidates will too. I am likely not interested, but if you find a decent candidate and turn them off with your approach, it’s your loss.

Slow and steady wins the race, Recruiter A.

Am I the only one who this has happened to?  By all means, please comment and share your stories.

Mark

©2012 intersection of online and offline. All Rights Reserved.

Owner [disclosure: and former boss in the 90's] Gary Bivings has offered some perspective to job seekers who are looking to apply their skill sets in the world on online public affairs. This follows my interview with Brian Batchelder of Fleishman-Hillard; different firms, different cultures.  Fleishman is a huge firm and Bivings is a smaller firm.  Different people prefer different work environments.

Have a read.

1. Tell my readers about the history and makeup of The Bivings Group.  What has been your market niche since the firm’s founding? And do you consider yourself a “boutique firm?”

The Bivings Group got its start back in the mid-90s.  At the time we were a traditional public affairs and crisis communications firm.  Although we were boutique-sized, our client base led us to establish offices in several other cities, in the U.S. and internationally.  But very early on we cracked the internet, so incorporating the web into our practice gave us an edge.  Of course at the time we actually had to explain to clients what the web was, what it could do for them! Over time, we developed into a more focused Washington, DC-based web development and internet communications firm.  Now a lot of our work centers on public affairs, such as The Pickens Plan (www.pickensplan.com), and we offer ImpactWatch®, a media management platform. Of course we continue to develop custom software applications too. The opportunity to invent things is one of the benefits of being on our team.

There are about 30 of us.  We work with large companies, trade associations, philanthropies, coalitions, and not-for-profits. Our relatively small size means we’re less hierarchical, more flexible than the big guns.

2.  Based upon the clients that you serve, what types of employees have your historically hired?

Like so many of our clients, we’re all over the map, quite literally:   our staff is multi-lingual, and most have had significant global living and working experiences.  But we also look for and attract staff with a cross-border or interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving: a journalist who’s also a graphic artist; an ex-TV news editor who’s teaches self-defense; a self-taught software programmer. But whether the focus is strategy, technology or content, everyone here gets the web and social media.

3.  Aside from being a good match on paper, what has traditionally made candidates — then employees – a good match for your firm?  What are the intangibles that make him/her a good culture fit?

Simple to say, hard to do.  Ideally, we want evidence of an eagerness to learn, a willingness to take (responsible) risks, a comfort with collaboration. All those less tangible qualitites matter, a lot, especially in a firm our size. Naturally you’re looking for candidates who are self-motivated, curious and fun to be around. With a lucky charm you may even get the whole package. We’ve made some very good hires over the years.  We’ve got five people who’ve been at The Bivings Group for more than 10 years.

I learned long ago that everything communicates.  When you hire someone, you’re also hiring an ambassador.  There’s nothing like hearing from a possible client that they like your staff.  It may be obvious, but it’s still important to keep in mind:  clients who like working with you will tell others.  That means your staff, whatever their job description, are also your best sales people.

4.  What are your most effective recruiting venues?  Placement firms? Job sites like Craig’s List?  Word of mouth?

We tried a placement firm once.  It didn’t work out.  Never tried again.  Not worth the effort to explain to a third party who we are and what we’re looking for.  So for us, word of mouth is best, and Craigslist works.  And then there’s the unsolicited resume that simply can’t be ignored.

5.  Working for an online public affairs firm is very different than working in-house for a corporation, for example.  Given the online nature of your clients’ challenges, what characteristics do you seek in successful candidates?

What’s interesting about our niche is that the work we do is both very focused and very broad. Focused because of the medium we work in, yet wide-ranging because our clients are engaged in everything from energy to finance to art.  Which means each member of our staff has to have certain core skills and at the same time be willing and able to become an expert in virtually any business, market and/or issue-often on a dime.

6.  Without naming names, can you recall a “slam dunk” interview in which you knew a candidate was a good match?  What demonstrated that to you during in the interview process?  [taking notes, follow up, asking the right questions, demonstrated research on the firm, "gut feeling"?]

There’ve been several.  At least I thought they were. Then someone else talked to the candidate!  So we’ve developed a process here that involves a few folks and a set of questions we’ve learned to ask.  It’s not perfect–even our hiring group has made some questionable choices–but we’ve found this process gives us a better batting average than simply going by just first impressions and intuition.

That said, first impressions really do matter.  Believe it or not, we’ve had candidates come through the door without ever looking at our website.  Once that’s been made clear it really doesn’t matter what else you learn about the candidate!

7.  What advice would you give to interns seeking work at a firm such as yours?  Recent college graduates?  People with traditional public relations or public affairs experience, but maybe not so strong on the online side?

Interns are great–one particularly great employee started here as an intern during his junior year of college–and we have nothing against recent grads.  Like anyone joining our staff, interns need to have a skill/talent in the online world, have a feel for computers and/or technology, and be very curious about the world.  Smarts counts, and it’s even better when it comes with a personality, because lots of work around here gets done in teams.

But a cautionary note:  over the years we’ve found that many younger hires are not well-acquainted with or prepared for the demands of a professional work situation.  From what we hear, this is a pretty great place to work—we’re supportive, fun to be with and encourage our staff to have full lives outside the office—but we do expect anyone who works here to be fully dedicated to the task at hand. It’s what we promise our clients and it’s what we expect from our staff. “That’s not my job” or “but it’s 5:00” won’t cut it here.  Nipping out in the middle of the day for a doctor’s appointment is a no-brainer, and so is taking extra time at lunch when workflow permits.  But when there’s a deadline, it’s all hands on deck and we expect everyone to be fully committed to getting the job done, and getting it done well.

8.  Which do you value more:  a candidate whose experience closely matches a job description, or someone who is eager, malleable and intellectually curious with the potential to grow into a role?

Tough one.  The truth is we value both.  There’s a technical side to our business, even our client-facing people have various skills – graphic arts, video editing, etc. But it’s real hard to turn down a critical thinker who’s a superb writer and is fun to be around!

9.  If one were interested in working for the Bivings Group, how would he/she apply?

As it turns out, we are looking for someone in the DC area with experience in the public affairs world and expertise with social media.  The job description is at here.

Editor’s note:  I spent the better part of five years at the Bivings Group – my crowning achievement was being manager of the softball team.

©2012 intersection of online and offline. All Rights Reserved.