Who Needs A Guru?

Why Social Media

Recently I have been devoting a considerable amount of time cruising the internet for articles and walk-through's of the features of Facebook's new Timeline for Pages. 

Although I have always had an interest in Social Media - a few related University courses and a strict following of Mashable - my new job as a Social Media Manager for several small businesses now has me managing 4 Facebook pages and 4 Twitter accounts - My interest has gone from 'Interested - Moderate' to 'Interested - Extremely'.

Managing these 4 accounts doesn't make me an 'expert' by any means... but what is a Social Media Expert anyway? Since I bring a certain amount of passion to my job, I decided to start doing my research to raise my fairly amateur status.

What happened to regular Facebook?

I turned to the Google Gods to see what they'd turn up for Timeline Facebook tips.

First I was excited - "Wow, look at all the tips!"

Then I was skeptical - "Wait a second...why are they all the same?"

Then I was pissed off - "These bastards want to make money off everything don't they"

/Guru/Mark Zukerberg's personal Social Media Advisor

My 'Favorite' Articles

I noticed that most of them are written in the following format: 

Title - "Number Of Tips Being Given in the Article" 

(Example - "14 Tips To Facebook Timeline Success") 

Body - "Here are the vague 14 tips - with links to my payment page because you're obviously too unqualified to do this by yourself (you're no guru after all)"

(Example - "Wouldn't you like to see results from implementing the tips on this page? Well you're in luck! You obviously can't do it alone, because you know, you're just barely literate enough to read this webpage - I've actually dumbed-down the language for you. To really get these vague tips working for you, sign up for my newsletter, enter your credit card number to view my '10 spots left!' webinar, and have your inbox flooded by my 'exclusive' vague social media tips.")

Signature - "Written by: The best, most knowledgeable Social Media Guru in the world"

(Example - "Written by: The best, most knowledgeable Social Media Guru in the world - I actually invented Facebook")

This guy!

The Good

So what kind of tips are out there? And why am I so angry at people providing free advice?

Well there's the good - like this post by Pam Moore from Social Media Today.

Why's it good? It's informational, specific, and ends with various links for more information. 

The Bad

Here's the bad - Now it's not the worst, I mean you can't exactly fault someone for marketing their business, but anyone who refers to themselves as a 'Social Media Guru' is fair game in this blog post. This post by Nate Devore covers it nicely, notice how it fits nicely into the format. 

(Note - please don't come after me, my cat, my dog, or my fish - we are cute and didn't mean any offense). That's a lie - we did, especially the fish. They're scheming.

How angry does this guy look?

The Take-Away Message

Do have a Facebook profile picture - Do fill out the 'about' section - Do promptly respond to fan posts. 

Are people not already doing this stuff?

There are so many self-proclaimed Social Media Experts and Guru's out there - Now don't get me wrong, there are of-course those who are very experienced and knowledgeable in the field, but there is also a lot of crap to sift through. 

So definitely do spend time cruising the internet for social media tips if you have the time - I'm not exactly touting it as a waste - I'm certainly not stopping - apparently I have what is referred to as 'an addictive personality'. It's very serious stuff. 

But there comes a point where "10 Hot Tips for Twitter" becomes overused, overdone and frankly dried up. 

Tune into my blog for some of the best and worst of Social Media advice brought to you by a regular Social Media Marketer - Just Like You! (Or not... I don't really know who you are).

Let's learn together!