With the term “social media” so new – which, please note, the strategy behind it is not – it’s difficult for a brand to decide on their approach: billboard (please, hopefully not), interactive, social.

My good friend Maura Hernandez (amazing photographer, by the way) forwarded me an email newsletter written by Scott Hepburn from Media Emerging, that simply stated the following:

How to Become a “Social Media Consultant”
By Scott Hepburn

1. Have a job.
2. Lose your job

Unfortunately, this statement by Hepburn is all too true and dangerous. As somebody who has been working in the social media (online media, new media – whichever you prefer) space for years, I am sometimes shocked at the number of professionals who fit into the category above.

Granted they are familiar and are users of social media tools (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) and can probably teach the usage of them, but how have they used the web to create brand awareness and what is the ROI they can provide? At minimal, have they created and grown their own online brand or are they casual and social users?

With the term “social media” so new – which, please note, the strategy behind it is not – it’s difficult for a brand to decide on their approach: billboard (please, hopefully not), interactive, social. So why would you encourage or hire a consultant who has not already assisted in online brand building?

There was an article once written (of course, I cannot seem to locate and cannot remember the author) that outlined about 10 questions you should ask before hiring a social media consultant. Here are 5 of my own, that I think are most important (and if anybody knows the article I speak of – please let me know):

1. How many clients have they worked with. Paid clients.
2. What has been their ROI for their clients?
3. What is their approach to online branding and social [new] media?
4. Google their name. If you cannot find them easily, red flag it.
5. Is their fee in line with others? If it seems like “such a great deal, and much lower and in line with our budget” it probably is. Question why this consultant does not fully understand the value of their service.