Social Media Question of the Week: Finding a Social Media Vendor

This week’s Social Media Club (for which I’m on the editorial board, see last week’s post for details) question of the week is: Does your vendor understand social media? And how do you know?

Photo courtesy Ross Mayfield's Flickr

To be honest, this one’s a bit tougher for me than last week’s because I have never been with a company that has sought professional guidance for social media. What I do know for sure is that too many corporations tend to forget the “social” aspect of social media and treat it like just another way to broadcast their rigid message into the universe. I also know that you should not only look at a vendor’s previous results but also make sure that their approach will work well with your company’s individual goals.

Not being an expert on this particular topic, I wandered the blogosphere looking for great advice and, as it is prone to do, the blogosphere delivered. Here’s what I discovered…

Techipedia endeavors to answer the first question that you’ll need to get straight if you’re considering social media help: “What traits define a social media marketer?” What exactly should you expect from them?

“10 Important Considerations When Selecting A Social Media Measurement Vendor” hits on important points ranging from cost to language to content and focuses on measurement of benefits.

Chris Carfi’s “Social Customer Manifesto” is a fantastic list of requirements such as, “I want to know when something is wrong, and what you’re going to do to fix it,” “I want to do business with companies that act in a transparent and ethical manner,” and “I want to know what’s next. We’re in partnership…where should we go?”

“Diving (Safely!) into Social Media: Working with Partners and Vendors” has a list of assumptions that you should not make when working with social media vendors. Because you know what they say about assuming…it makes an a—oh nevermind.

Web Worker Daily asks the important question: “Social Media Consultant or Snake Oil Salesman?”

If you’ve already hired someone and are feeling as if you did end up with the dreaded snake oil salesman, check out Mashable’s “How to Know if You Should Fire Your Social Media Consultant.”

Or maybe you’ve hired someone and you’re pretty sure they’re a social media rock star (congrats!). Be sure by checking out “25 Signs You’ve Got a Strong SM Consultant or Agency.”

Who can get enough of lists? Not me. Here are three reasons why. 1. Quick. 2. Fun. 3. Useful. See? Here, have another: “25 Steps to Choosing a Social Media Consultant and Educator” is an impressive list of very practical tips. My favorite: “Ask them their definition of social media. If they give you a list of tools. Fail them.”

Not too much original insight from me on this week’s topic but that brings us to the most basic, important point about choosing folks to work with: Never trust anyone who says they’re an expert in something that they’re not. I’m no expert on this week’s question. Perhaps you are. Share your thoughts!