Trish Skram’s Blog

Tomorrow is the day! A day to stuff our faces with savory turkey, cranberry dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and too many buns! Ah, I love Thanksgiving! But more importantly, as cheesy as it sounds, it’s a time to reflect and express our gratitude and talk about what we’re thankful for.

Many of you saw my Facebook post yesterday (if not, be my friend on Facebook!!) about my visit at a local homeless shelter. I go there from time to time and always enjoy myself there. Yesterday’s experience, however, really pulled on the heartstrings. I was talking with a single mother about her experience at the shelter and what brought her there to seek support. She had her one-year-old daughter with her and I was humbled by their willingness to make the best of what they have. As her daughter played and smiled unfathomably, I couldn’t help but feel for these families who struggle during the Holidays. This family had limited family support and no financial sustainability, but she still felt so thankful. Unfortunately, this is the story of many of the residents. Do you take time to reflect on what you have and express your gratitude? The simple, very small things we take advantage of each and every day. The car we drive, our home, condo or apartment (no matter how small it is), food in the fridge … it’s all necessary for our survival and a strong asset to our well-being yet so overlooked in many instances. The long talks we have with our sig others at night before bed, the little favor your co-worker does for you to make your day brighter. I don’t say this much but I truly feel blessed. It made me reflect on what I’m thankful for: my health, happiness and most of all, you, my friends and family. So I pose to you, what are you thankful for?

Photo courtesy of http://cybernetnews.com

Technorati Tags: House of Mercy Homeless Center, Random "Trish" Thoughts, what I'm thankful for

You get a message on Twitter that says, “thanks for following me. Find out how you can get a following or get friends on Facebook by clicking here …” or “Need more success? It’s easier than you think. I’ll give you my secret guide for FREE! Click here …” Ugh. Lately, Twitter has been notorious for direct messages like this AND spam avatars who send out messages that are just plain annoying. Sad but true.

But it doesn’t stop there. In this day and age, there are a lot of folks out there looking for a quick buck and they’ll do anything to make you think they are your go-to business success answer. Again, sad but true. There’s a lot of warning signs to find out if your social media (SM) consultant is a fake (or well, not worth the investment). These bullets are based on how they portray themselves online. Here are a few key things to look for to find out if your SM person is a fake.

Google ‘em. Are they there? Simply stated, folks. Do they show up a few times? Better yet, do they show up at all? If not, you’ve been bamboozled. If they don’t have solid links to justify they are indeed a SM expert, they probably just discovered social media in the last six months. Google or any search engine can really be on your side in this case.

Their connection ratios are off, way off. Example: If they are following 4,000 people on Twitter, but only have 200 or so following them. Or they have a Facebook page but, it reaks of bad character (e.g. no comments, interaction, friends, links)? I know a few SM/PR people that only have 500 followers, but they follow back hundreds as well. You don’t have to have 10,000 followers or friends to know what you’re talking about. It’s how and what you say when you tweet. You can really tell a lot about a person by how and what they say when they tweet. Really, folks … would you dine with a chef who didn’t even eat their own food? I think not. Read their feeds and ask yourself these questions:
• Are they sending out quality, worth-while educational links that pertain to your industry?
• Do they engage in conversation with other people (especially other social media professionals?)
• Do they tweet at least once a day?
• Do they talk about their own SM success stories?

They claim to know everything. Nobody knows everything about social media. Not even the best of the best. Social media is evolving every day. It’s shifting constantly and making new paths. It’s impossible to know EVERYTHING. It’s a good thing to not know everything. It shows they are willing to adapt, change and most of all, learn.

They call themselves a “social media guru.” WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Watch out for the over-excessive, boastful, have-no-idea-what-I’m-saying powerhouses. Professionals who show a thing or two about social media for you (or their clients) but have no personal online presence themselves is like saying you endorse a product and say “it’s the best” when you’ve never tried it or believe in it yourself. Eek!

All talk and no strategy. Or no talk about what you want to accomplish. It’s easy for agencies to drum up business with clients who have no solid knowledge in SM strategy because they tell you a blog is necessary because, well, everyone else has one. I sometimes get this within my own company. Executives think we should dive in to all tools, when in fact, it’s not necessary because it doesn’t fit the strategy or mission. A good consultant will make sure your goals align with your mission and vision. That’s where true, effective social media success stems from.

There are several more warning signs, folks. @PRsarahevans of Sevens Strategy and @skydiver (aka Peter Shankman) put together a more expansive list in July.

I’m not sure there is such thing as a social media guru or expert because the SM work is changing so much. What do you think? Weigh in below via comments.

Image courtesy of www.seobook.com

Technorati Tags: fake SM consultant, PR gal, public relations, public relations professionals in Wisconsin, Random "Trish" Thoughts, SM posers, social media