7 Questions to ask before hiring that Twitter expert
Just replied to @markshaw's blog post about questions for Twitter Experts http://j.mp/fU4Czd
markmapstone
Hey Mark,
Just read this post (big fan of your work btw), and enjoyed but kept in mind the title '7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring That Twitter Expert', throughout. I understand all the points raised by yourself and commentors, but what you perhaps may have overlooked is providing a solution to the Hiring Client a litmus test that they will be able to use and prove if the 'Twitter Expert' is indeed an expert or not.
Obviously life is never that black and white and generally the most we can do is educate people as best as we can. But I feel providing Hiring Clients with questions only solves part of the problem. What the Hiring Client does with that answer (measurement, ascertaining quality and value etc) is a much harder call to make.
Lets take the first point about Time:
I don't think you're suggesting that Time proves knowledge. When we both know that demonstration of knowledge actually equates to knowledge. But to the potential client, they probably won't have enough knowledge to ascertain if what they are reading (tweets) equates to quality. And we both know that Quality (engagement?) trumps Knowledge (theoretical?) and it also trumps Time. I would argue that Time isn't a good measurement of quality of any sort, due to the 'experts' ability to have more than one twitter account. Eg: Search for @markmapstone on your http://www.whendidyoujointwitt... and you'll see that I've only been on Twitter since 2008. Incorrect. A Hiring Client will not be aware of my other or old twitter acc names and therefore make a mistake in judgement because of this advice.
So is there a way, that people could use a date stamp to ascertain quality of any sort with regard to Twitter usage? I really don't think there is a way. Unless you have ideas, we might have to scratch that one off the list. However I do agree that Time, as a generalisation, is a good indicator but needs some caveats. Instead of the Hiring Client doing their own search for the Twitter Expert. Perhaps we should advise them to ask directly when they first joined twitter (under any account name) and why they chose the Twitter service rather than some of the others that were around during its inception (eg: Jaiku or Plurk). This way, we have given the Hiring Client some benchmarks for a informed answer, which we can pool together at the end of all the questions asked and make a decision of 'quality/knowledge/value'.
Regarding point 2:
You raise the question of a 'good' twitter profile. I agree a good bio is important, but lets assume for a second that a 'twitter expert', will also have completed their bio. What could a Hiring Client spot in the bio which you would advise is a sign of a non-effective twitter expert?
Really tricky one to answer imo. I certainly don't have the answer there. But if I think about it, I make my judgements on others, after viewing a number of scammers profiles. Maybe we could provide Hiring Clients with examples of shady bio's? Giving them a flavour of what to make a judgement call on - people like you and me, can spot a duffer a mile away, but the Hiring Client will struggle with this one.
I agree with all of point 3 btw :)
Regarding point 4: Searching
A twitter expert is unlikely to admit that they don't know something about Twitter. What is likely is that the Expert will bluff the Hiring Client. So we have to give the Hiring Client a way to challenge the Expert to demonstrate their search knowledge and give a way to measure the effectiveness of the answer relative to the Hiring Clients needs. I feel a good way would be to inform the Hiring Client of a method of finding something relevant to their business. Then challenge the Expert to find something similar, based on the same search criterior. Eg: Question: find me 5 twitter experts that provide the same service as you do in a 100 mile radius of my business. Answer: Go to http://search.twitter.com/adva... put 'twitter expert' & 'consultation' in the search box, add in your City and click 100 mile radius. The Hiring Client can switch out the words 'twitter expert' & 'consultation' for something they are interested in, get a feel for the results, set a test for the Expert and then have a discussion about the results found.
For point 5:
This is a point we disagree on (possibly). I could never recommend handing over company twitter account to an agency or outside individual. That to me, would be like handing over my mobile phone. Maybe you need to educate me on the value of this point? The only way I would advise a client to do this, is if the client were certain that the Twitter Expert was indeed an Expert first, and we have now created a infinite loop to ascertain 'quality' which doesn't really have a concrete answer.
For point 6: Follower numbers:
Hmm. I don't think numbers are an accurate way to assess anything. As a general rule I agree with you, if someone is following 1000 people, yet only being followed by 10, then run away from them. If that is what you mean then lets provide the Hiring Client with those figures. The trouble is, the figures can only be a rough guide. Lets say someone played the auto follow game to pump up their numbers. Then unfollowed loads of people to make it look like they followed few, but many followed them. Completely screwing with the popularity game and creating an illusion of being a twitter expert. Not good. We actually need a system/guide or tips that the Hiring Client can use make an informed decision. Is there a way? I'm not sure I have an answer. In fact the only advice I could give a Hiring Client in this instance is to ask around and find an independent twitter advisor (such as yourself) to assess a twitter expert for them. But then we're back in a catch-22 of finding a twitter expert to assess a twitter expert! Damn these unregulated industries!
7: agreed.
*phew, big response but worth it for 30 mins of typing! Anyways... would love to hear your thoughts on any of these points. I certain do not claim to have any answers, but sure do enjoy a good discussion on the topic :)
All the best - Mark
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