The Hartsock Agency

I’m constantly marveling at people who grab catchy domain names with the word expert in them to establish their expertise. For myself, I’ve always shied away from referring to myself as an expert in anything. (Well, almost anything. I think I’m a pretty expert Mom.)

Having been on the Web since 1996, I’ll give you some historical perspective about those early folks making their way along the DotCom highway touting themselves as “experts.” Wait, I was going to use links to their sites to show you how far they’ve come and how many people they helped, but alas, all their sites are long gone.

Here’s the deal about social media and it’s very similar to the early days of the dotcom frenzy. The more you learn, the more you need to learn. Having been a technology journalist from the infancy of the Web, I can promise you that each time you think you’ve got it all figured out is just about the time you need to learn a new tool’s update or test out one more beta site.

I don’t know about you but when I see the word “expert” it’s usually a red flag for me to make certain to look at the offerings in-depth.

So here are some ways to determine if the expert or experts are up to snuff:

1. Has their blog or site just been newly created and does it have very little in terms of blogroll, tags, keywords, categories, link love?

2. Are these “experts” regulars on the good ol’ teleseminar rodeo circuit?

3. Does it all seem too good to be true?

4. Do they blog about free tools you can use or more about how to buy their “coaching services?”

5. Is their blog transparent or is it filled with links to affiliated folks and “friends of friends” who also offer you their “insider secrets.”

6. Do they post news articles that underline the need for metrics, measurement and benchmarks in social media?

7. Do they have pictures, bios and client references on their blog or website?

8. When you ask them if they’ve had good success in their campaigns do they respond smirkily “Can monkeys fly?”

Just always keep in mind that social media is ever-evolving and there are lots of people who can help you and lots of free sites including Mashable.com, Problogger.com, DailyBlogTips.com that can empower your own understanding just as much as a social media consultant can.