Update 1-19-2010:
I had a fun discussion with one of my coworkers this morning. [welcome everyone to the working week ;-) ] And we were talking about actually hiring social media strategists. [Not experts mind you: strategists are usually more like students than teachers.]
Of the 5 people here in the Austin office who are employed as full time social media associates, using Radian6 and blogging and tweeting about client concerns and joining in conversations as part of their business, only one is over 30. The young shall inherit this work, being more fluent and flexible in their understanding of the information super highway as a lifestyle.
So the older guy, 35, was talking about how we found him. He worked at Dell and was part of Dell's social media "listening" program. And he came back with the observation that any social media enthusiast should be finding their next employers. I agree. If you are IN social media and DOING social media, don't you think you'd be out looking for opportunities to follow, comment and communicate with others on social media teams.
But here's the kicker. Our company is growing faster than we can find good people. http://wcgworld.com But it is still hard to find people with social media experience and solid writing skills. So as an experiment, back in December I wrote this piece "WANTED FOR HIRE" and put a call to action for social media strategists willing to relocate to San Francisco or NYC. Not to shabby a gig if you can get it. What I didn't expect was that I go ZERO responses. Not one person actually contacted me. Perhaps they thought it was a hype story, or not for real.
Okay so it's three weeks later and here's what I have to tell you. If you are looking for a job in social media, some experience required participating in social communities and writing well. And if you are willing to relocate to Austin, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City or London, please contact me directly. My team wants to talk to you and see if you are a fit. And you can check the site for the "open rec" type job announcements. But what I am giving you here is an opportunity to connect directly with some of the top people doing social media in our company of 160 folks.
I consider myself a student as well as a guide. But I have much to learn. And I strive to learn it everyday. And what qualifies me differently than many others is I try and leave a trail of evidence and thinking behind me as I make my discoveries. I want you to discover them too. With sites like delicious and posterous and inSocialMedia.com I do my best to spread references, studies, experience and even aspirations with others walking the same path.
So… On more time, this time with maximum clarity: WeissComm is looking for smart people who have some experience in social networking, business and who can write well. If you can't express yourself online we're not that interested. If you are a genuine communicator, let's talk.
Finally, if you are a social media strategist and you are looking for a job and you don't find this post… Well, I'm thinking you might not be doing the right networking to find that next opportunity. Here in Austin we're listening for you. But you need to come chat with us if you pick up this signal. And if you don't… Maybe you will soon.
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Must be willing to relocate to NYC or San Francisco.
So calling yourself a social media "strategist" is not enough. I've been following the search term for about six months now and the definition spans every layer of online marketing.
In fact, if you limit yourself to "social media" aren't you missing the rest of the program?
I am constantly amazed when I try and explain social media to anyone who is not in the "biz." What goes for social media usually flies under the Facebook or Twitter banner, when in fact those might be the last social media strategies you want to engage.
I have recently joined WCG Partners and we are one year into the process of adding full-service online media and online marketing to the already successful PR business that is WeissComm Partners. But as every strong PR company knows, if you don't integrate your planning with social media you are missing the 50% lift that "engagement" can add to any campaign.
I had the privilege of working at Dell for several years with Bob Pearson, as we explored, expanded and engaged in conversations with customers, partners and internal Dell teams. And as Bob moved on from Dell into WeissComm we stayed in touch, did a project or two together and when the time was right, Bob began to build the Austin team.
We are still building. And in fact, our customers are so enthusiastic they are actually telling us to keep hiring, they will fill any available pipe with additional work; and more importantly additional budget.
At Dell we were constantly battling budgets and getting things done under the quarterly earnings cycles that began shedding projects during the last month of each quarter. I was usually on the "innovation" end of that budget and at Dell that was the first to go. After all, it's a bottom-line business.
WCG seems to have a different problem. Bob Pearson is like a ring-leader in social media, and clients usually have an open door when he offers some insights into their particular challenges.
And that's where the "social media strategist" comes in. Our job is to visualize the project with the client, write the descriptions and technical specifications for the dev team and work with the creative and brand teams to build out the program. If you've done that already, I'd like to hear from you. If you haven't… Get crackin, and do some outreach, do some blogging, build some programming skills.
The work of social media engagement is accelerating. And if we do our jobs correctly we should have more job stability than the past 3 – 4 years. That's my plan and I'm stickin to it.
@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/socialmedia-strategist
