DISQUS

paul · 1 year ago

Communication, if you want to hear good stories you need to have a good story to tell.

Andrea Hill (afhill) · 1 year ago

Great post! I'm not a social media strategist either. I'm a developer. well, a developer who makes recommendations on how to leverage emerging technologies ad social media to facilitate communication between brands and their consumers.

I feel as though the term "developer" is so vague that it really doesn't reflect what I do. I sometimes like to refer to myself as a user advocate, as my motivation lies in providing the user with a positive experience and facilitating meeting their goals. As you say, social media is one tactic to achieve that.

I do worry that although 'social media' is a huge buzz word right now, that it will come to be integrated into conventional marketing, at which point where do all the social media strategists go? I almost feel as though it is a capability, but not a de facto job category.

Sean · 1 year ago

Thanks Andrea...it's great to read this from yet another point of view - the developer!!

At some point what is "conventional" will be social.

sean

Ken Brady · 1 year ago

Good points, all around. It's an ongoing internal debate for me: what facets of what I do best represent my value to those with whom I'm speaking? We sometimes forget that we're marketing our own buy-in to new, cutting edge ideas.

I have the added hit of being a "virtual worlds strategist" as well, which is really just another facet of social media. But try telling that to the 60-year-old CEO of a consumer products company.

I guess, as always, it comes down to knowing your audience.

Adam Schorr · 1 year ago

Sean:

My response is partly tongue in cheek as well. None of the above is what you are or do. Your final paragraph is way too complicated. I'm a marketer (and theoretically a potential client) and my eyes glazed over several times while reading this paragraph.

"Advocacy"
"Touch points"
"Affinity"...

Too much consultant-ese!

It comes down to who you are talking to. If you're talking to a fellow non-social media strategist then I suppose the above is fine. If you're talking to the average person who might sit next to you on a plane, you may as well speak Latin. And if you're speaking to a marketer like me who is very open to the thinking that I bet you would share if I hired you, then you might want to keep the content but tone way the heck down the buzzwords.

What do you do? You help companies better market their products by showing them how to build stronger relationships with their customers.

arne · 1 year ago

It should all fall into [something] communications strategist, don't you think? Maybe even strategist isn't a word worthy of inclusion, perhaps that part of the title needs something else. But at the end of the day, you're (presumably) consulting regarding some sort of communications platform -- social media, customer experience, etc. No one ever defined as communications as one-way only, which is an unfortuantely implicit trait to anything labeled "marketing communications."

sean · 1 year ago

Arne: totally right:) Strategist is a funny word. Might drop that too.

Thanks Adam too. The context will always matter - part of why this was "tongue in cheek." If i'm sitting next to a practitioner, I'm much more likely to dive in examples. I'm not sure "market" isn't too limited as well, as I also work with my clients on the product dev side and the support side...but in the end, I think those pieces matter in order to drive the marketing piece, so oh well, back to market:)

thanks for commenting.
sean

Stacy Draper · 1 year ago

Leave it to marketing people to make things so confusing.

When you get on the plane and someone asks you what you do? Tell them your in marketing.

If they like marketing stuff they'll ask you traditional advertising or social?

I mean afterall you closed by saying that to be a good social media stratigist you have to be so much more. So let people know that you're more than that. Just put marketing dude on your card and leave it at that.

Stacy Draper
Implimentor and customizor for solutions that make sense for the problems at hand.

(see it's easy!)

Connie Bensen · 1 year ago

I'm preferring Community Building over Community Management. And I bought 'CommunityStrategist'. I view the social media tools as part of the means to the end - but people are still needed.

diane davidson · 1 year ago

Great post and something we all struggle with. Key point for me is that developing a social media strategy or plan may start out as a separate activity but as it grows and matures, it becomes clear that it is in fact, a customer, prospect, employee, or developer 'engagement' program. Jeremiah Owyang just spoke on this when he said, "listening to, talking with ... energizing, supporting, and/or embracing" customers, prospects, or employees. The key here is engagement. Not just advocacy or marketing communications. Integration with other programs is essential for long term success. Not sure there is a good catch all.

Pat McClellan · 1 year ago

Hey Sean, we in "experiential marketing" faced the same challenge a decade ago, before anybody had coined the "social media" term. (The Wall Street Journal actually described our company as the "so-called 'experiential' marketing agency.") I just tell people I'm in marketing, and then describe what I do as helping brands connect with their advocates.

At various times in my career I've had the word strategist in my job title. When asked what that means, I always just said I help people figure things out.

Sean · 1 year ago

How true Pat, this is indeed cyclical. Maybe it should be "Marketing Strategery" :)

sean

Jason Preston · 1 year ago

I know this debate. I've been struggling with what my job title is the entire time I've been working with the Parnassus Group.

I'm currently a "New Media Manager," which is meant to both require a little more explanation and allow for a little more wiggle room (what I do changes from day to day and client to client - never too much, but enough).

In the end, of course, our titles will all be whatever becomes the recognized standard. I don't think "social media strategist" is that bad in the grand scheme of things ;)

compassioninpolitics · 1 year ago

I think something that fuses community + customer + communications makes a ton of sense. I like advocate, but think that architect for all the drawbacks of the terms is sometimes more what goes on.

I found you though Connie Bensen's shared items...

Kevin Briody · 1 year ago

Sean - I meant to comment on this months ago, but fell down on that goal. Just stumbled back across this now, so here you go:

Personally I think "social media" is being just abused to death by agencies and consultants right now. It, along with "digital" (Digital Media Manager, Digital Communications Mgr, etc) are both in vogue though I can see them having somewhat short lifespans as they speak to the specific tools and not the desired impact.

My preference is to characterize this kind of work as community marketing - what you do to is help companies connect to and build relationships with communities (users, potential influencers, partners, etc). "Community" referring to the general idea, and not the tools themselves (forums, portals, blogs, etc).

That said, it too probably is as good or bad as any of the others. Pot-A-to vs pot-AH-to, and so on. :)

Jeremiah Owyang · 1 year ago

Sean

Great post, I'm tracking all the titles (as you know) and here's how folks in corporate are titling themselves. note: none of them are consultants, these are only full time folks

http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/06/20/l...

I do use the title 'social media strategist' as a descriptor, although they may have a variety of titles, some which are more tied to the business --not tools.

VOMIChairman · 4 months ago

Adam is correct when he says, "What do you do? You help companies better market their products by showing them how to build stronger relationships with their customers."

After all, no matter what we call ourselves, that is the bottom line. However, that being said, it's really all about "packaging." We all know oatmeal is oatmeal no matter what the damn box says, however, the one that has that nice labeling, beautiful graphic design, etc. and which sells for more than the old bland looking carton box that only says "Oatmeal" will get far more attention than the bland one even though the bland one has just as much nutritional value than the one that came with the fancy packaging.

Whether we want to admit it or not, human beings, for the most part, are irrational and therefore "packaging" works. So in today's day and age, what should I call myself? The answer is: Social Media Strategist. In a couple of years from now? I don't really know. It could be Social Network Strategist or whatever else the irrational majority is enamored with.

But the real question should be: What will I be delivering? To paraphrase Adam, I will be helping companies better market their products by showing them how to build stronger relationships with their customers.