Integrated Alliances

So many people are jumping on bandwagons these days, so many trying to find their next gig, trying to do something to pay the bills. And so the issue comes up that anyone can do anything for anyone if they just know a little more than the next guy. But is that good enough?

I received yet another notice in my inbox from a new social media “expert” that purports to have figured it out. When I looked at the facebook video link, it was of such poor quality that it was sad to watch. He’s sitting on an old couch in a wrinkled shirt with bad audio (making it hard to hear) on a dim webcam so the only feature I can really pick out against the background is rather large ears.

Am I dissing this guy? No; not at all. I am being honest about how he is portraying himself in his quest to “sell” social media training to small business owners. Maybe he will find success; perhaps he will help some people go further than they are going themselves. In the meantime, he doesn’t understand that he comes across as someone who’s not in it for the long haul, someone who will leave the side of his client the moment a job offer comes in.

Contrast that with the quality product a real training company or professional strives to provide and you’ll see a huge difference in the potential return on your investment. Here’s a real life example: Mike and I were recently at HyperThreat Studios to record a CD-quality audio companion to our first book Rock the World with your Online Presence. The picture attached to this post is my partner, Mike O’Neil in front of the microphone.

The point is, when people come across so much poor quality, they stop looking. They miss the real professionals who can help them navigate this new world. There are tons of people who are in the field, where good enough is just good enough, sort of like our friend described above. There are fewer real veterans who will someday (perhaps sooner than later) find themselves being inducted into the Social Media Hall of Fame. Those would be the likes of Guy Kawasaki, Jay Deragon, Chris Brogan, Joel Comm, Dean Holmes, Mike O’Neil, Ron Davies, Lewis Howes, Patrick O’Malley, JD Gershbein, and others.

The above is by no means an exhaustive list. Rather only the first who have come to mind. If you know someone who really knows their stuff, feel free to drop a comment below. We’d love to recognize real experts in the field who maintain a level of quality not because they have to, but because they are just that authentic.

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