I am officially tired of all the fluff going around in the name of Social Media marketing. The next time you want to hire some one to run Social Media marketing for your brand, run through the following check list first.

Question the Sales/ Marketing/ Business pedigree

You cannot be a social media marketeer unless you are a marketeer. Just writing a blog, having 3767 fans and 2653 followers does not a Social Media marketeer make. Does this person have credible sales and marketing experience in general?

Question the digital pedigree

Does your Social Media marketeer understand digital? Digital and social are intertwined. Your Social Media Marketeer needs to understand digital advertising,  CPC, SEO, Analytics, Hosting, Software Development and more.

Question the Social Pedigree

Does your Social Media marketeer live social? Do not just look for personal experiences. Look for brand experiences and look for results (and yes look for blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts too)

Assets and tools

Has your Social Media Marketeer built / conceptualized / used tools and applications that allow for a more effective use of available platforms?

Just do it vs a Planned long term approach

Does your Social Media Marketeer use the work viral 4 times every 5 minutes? If yes, run away. Do you only get to hear the word ‘campaign’ and not a long term road map or plan? Social is a way of life, it is not about a flash in the pan campaign. It is about building assets for the long term. It is about having answers for eventualities.

Boxed in a Silo?

Is your Social Media marketeer boxed in the PR Silo…or the Advertising Silo…or the Digital Silo? It won’t work. Social Media spans across all three and much more. You need someone who understands all aspects of communication and has a good business sense in general.

Are they ready to talk about measurable results?

Or better still, peg their payments to those results.

Are they experts?

Does your Social Media Marketeer also call themselves ‘Social Media Experts’? If yes, run away.

Are they bluffing?

I am sure they are not, but do check them out on Google just for good measure.

Do they go deep?

When you ask them pointed questions and clarifications, do they spew jargon? Or do they answer in a manner that you can understand?

And finally – Are they talkers or doers?

The ability to create a great deck and talk smoothly do not a Social Media marketeer make. What have they done? Have they got their hand dirty? Have they led a team that has got its hands dirty?