For years, we\u2019ve been saying\u00a0you don\u2019t need\u00a0a social media expert, consultant or specialist. Nor do you require\u00a0social-specific certifications.\u00a0You just need a talented\u00a0modern marketer.\u00a0Social isn\u2019t new\u00a0and should be a skill set everyone has.<\/p>\n
Why no certifications? The skills in social are really only nurtured by having\u00a0your own projects\u00a0you\u2019ve built from the ground up (not<\/em>\u00a0other people\u2019s platforms)\u00a0and\u00a0experience with\u00a0hands on work.\u00a0So when I saw Jason Falls share the following\u00a0Tweet\u00a0over the weekend about a meme that \u201csocial media experts\u201d love to say, I had to re-share:<\/p>\n Increased frequency of \u201cyou\u2019re using social media wrong\u201d posts this morning. If someone\u2019s use bugs you, unfollow them. Life is too short.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This quote resonated as I\u2019ve heard similar statements over the years on blogs, at conferences and even by consultants in boardrooms. We\u2019ve even had some readers lately \u00a0try and tell us how we have been covering the industry for the past 6 years \/ how we run our community is \u201cwrong,\u201d despite a majority of people finding value in what we do (although I \u00a0see\u00a0making enemies\u00a0as valuable as making friends so don\u2019t personally have issues with this).<\/p>\n Ultimately, those who think there are \u201cright\u201d and \u201cwrong\u201d ways to use technology for communications and are preaching this just make themselves look bad.\u00a0Different communities follow different rules and to blindly try and apply a set of best practices across niches, audiences or brands is going to set yourself up for failure.<\/p>\n Having\u00a0built several\u00a06 and 7-figure sites and been moderating digital communities since the 90s I\u2019ll say from experience\u00a0you should\u00a0break\u00a0perceived rules\u00a0and find what works for you. And if someone bothers you personally or you find yourself in a situation professionally that you\u2019re being told something is wrong that you know to be right (or want to test) but are being shackled, get out. As Jason said, life is too short.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For years, we\u2019ve been saying\u00a0you don\u2019t need\u00a0a social media expert, consultant or specialist. Nor do you require\u00a0social-specific certifications.\u00a0You just need … <\/p>\n