I am an expert social media marketer, but apparently, so is everyone else. At the moment, you can’t seem to throw a stone without hitting a Digital Nomad, a Social Butterfly, or a Social Media Marketing Expert, most of which offer the same social media management but by a different name, so beware.

Social media marketing is now an expert field, with algorithms, updates and platforms changes to be aware of. So, how can everyone, their neighbour and their dog be a “Social Media Expert?” They simply can’t. Like men, not all social media marketers were created evil; sorry that should read equal. When investing your time, energy and valuable resources into finding and implanting a social media, remember to carry out these simple checks.

Do you they know how Facebook works?

This may seem like a simple question, but unless they can explain the Machine Learning algorithm in simple, plain English, walk away. If someone doesn’t understand how Facebook works, how can they successfully market your business on it?

Do they know (or care) where your customers are?

No business needs to be on every social media platform, they need to be where their customers are. If a social media marketer is telling you to be on every platform, without even trying to learn who your customers are and which networks they are on, your “expert” is more interested in dollar signs that your return on investment.

Can they tell you what they are doing for you?

Technical jargon is an expert’s friend, especially when you want to confuse a client. If someone can’t tell you what something does in the simplest English, they don’t know the subject well enough. Don’t be fooled by someone using the lingo and long words. Instead ask them why they are creating so many ad campaigns, ask them which audiences they are making, ask them every question you could possibly want to know the answer to.

Are they getting results?

It is true that Social Media doesn’t work for every business and every campaign may not yield the results you are hoping for, but any social media marketer should be able to notice this quickly and test a campaign over and over again until something improves. If it doesn’t, they should be able to give you reasons why and suggestions of what you can try going forwards. Simply saying “it should get better,” isn’t good enough. Social media marketing is like using a sniper rifle; if campaigns aren’t converting, either your offering, audience or communication is wrong.