I want to have a shown down at the OK Corral with the Social Media Strategist on one side and The Social Media Expert on the other side. A fight to the death reminiscent of the greatest shoot out of the old west.

Here is my beef! A social media expert is someone who thinks they know it all. That is just not right. That being said, I support the underdog Social Media Strategist. In this shoot out we will detail the differences between these two very different professionals.

This might be the great single competition the Social Networking Schmoozer has hosted since Disqus Vs Intense Debate Vs ReCaptcha Vs WordPress Comment System Die.

Social Media Strategist

  1. Help create a strategy for businesses to use social media with the rest of their marketing/promotion mix successfully.
  2. Provide an outside voice in marketing that can help steer a company to what their clients want. When you know what your clients want, the rest is easy!
  3. Create a large picture view of how social media can help their business in every facet of their operations.
  4. Always looking and learning for a new way to help businesses thrive.

Social Media Expert

  1. Enjoy the title and the notoriety! “No pictures please, I am an expert!”
  2. “No need to learn! I am an expert. How may I help you?”
  3. Rates First, The Assistance Afterwards.
  4. For only $2000 more we can offer you!

Social Media Strategist Versus Social Media Expert

OK! So may not all experts are as bad as I portrayed above, but the fact remains that in business more often than not the word rings of the idea that someone knows what they are doing and should be charged a lot of money for that knowledge.

A strategist is someone, on the other hand, who comes to the table with something of value. They still want and should be paid for what they offer, but the value comes first.

And in the end, maybe a word does not define what you do in business. However, from what I have seen the actions of the social media expert versus the social media strategist has shown me that a word can sometimes define the profession.