Why Social Media Consultants should understand Technology

Posted on | December 11, 2009 | View Comments

Social Media has attracted several consultants and professionals from other industries. It’s fantastic to see the diversity of backgrounds and rich industry experience they bring along. I have met ex-recruiters, doctors, musicians, Lawyers and business coaches. Although I will argue that social media needs a sound understanding of technology as part of the industry knowledge.

Social Media Entrepreneurs are ex-technologist

Most successful social media companies are developed by programmers or hackers. Daniel Ek of Spotify, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Michael Birch of Bebo etc. In my opinion a founding member of the team needs to have a good understanding of technology else it’s impossible to make a sound decision. All of these entrepreneurs played an important role in shaping the offering i.e. the strategy and software.

A social media strategist fills a similar gap in the company. Hence a consultant with understanding of technology can bring more to the table.

Companies concentrating on technology

When a company seriously decides to go “Social”. It’s not only about the strategy but the overall technology offering. Worth thinking why most big publishers are investing in one form or another on technology. Examples are Guardian building Open Platform and New York Times investing in WordPress.

Making Informed Decisions

Lastly and perhaps most importantly from the point of view of a customer looking to buy social media, they need a consultant who is realistic about the costs involved in implementing the social media strategy. It’s a nightmare when a strategist is unrealistic about the time it would take to implement a campaign.

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