This week I received a tweet from a stranger that asked me, “What’s your biggest challenge in social media?”

The tweet directed me to post my answer on their Facebook page and they would respond to it there. I tweeted back and asked if we knew each other and also told her my biggest challenge as a community manager is determining accurate ROI (as well as needing to sleep!)

The lady who posed the question did not respond to me. I waited an hour and still nothing. I decided to pop over to her page to learn a bit more. Her bio reads:

“A nationally renowned social media and e-marketing whiz, teaches industries nationwide the power of social media marketing & relations.

And yet when you look through her feed, it’s pretty much the same scheduled message to different people. “What’s your biggest challenge in social media, please post on our Facebook page & we’ll try to answer. But she contacted me on Twitter, right? What if I don’t want to use Facebook? What if I prefer Google+ or another network instead?

As we should all know by now, social media is simply a new method of communication, a new way for us to talk to each other. By the same token, people did not understand the telephone when it was invented and I think there are many who are just now beginning to grasp the implications of what the digital web can do. In community building we know that social media is a two-way street. You say something to me, I say something to you and we have a conversation.

So what’s my biggest challenge in social media then? It’s apparently not my original answer of ROI.  It is simply this: working with people who proclaim themselves as “social media gurus and then pitch how they can work wonders for other businesses. They give those who know what they’re doing a bad name.

These types of people sell themselves as experts even though they may not really know what they’re talking about. They’re good salesmen but not necessarily social media experts. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know everything, but I do know this much –  social media marketing & community building is not the traditional way of blasting out a one-way commercial and hoping people will buy.  That still exists in advertising and lead generation, but not in social because the audience can respond.  If you’re hiring a community manager or a social media manager, make sure you know the difference in the tools that they’ll be using. A good first trick is looking at the authenticity of their social media bios.

So what are your social media challenges?  Share below in the comments!

Garick Chan

Technocratic solutions to a communal future, Garick is a digital engagement strategist & outreach specialist. Topics are mostly centered on social business and customer service. Additionally, Garick has been a speaker for many social media conferences/events and continues to serve as Board Advisor for Social Media Club – Los Angeles.