Before you read this, take a look at our “About” page, because there’s something in it that really sets the tone for the question in the title.

I first had the idea to launch this blog after reading numerous tweets and blog posts from people giving advice to marketers and other social media “experts” without any credentials.

Credentials. It’s an interesting thing to talk about, particularly in the post-credential egalitarian social media world, isn’t it?

On Tuesday, Duncan Riley posted about the “Social Media Expert Crisis,” in which he said the following:

I’m sad to report that in March 2010, the crisis is here.

My first pointer was at the Media140 conference in Sydney in November 2009. I hold no grudge against the organizer, who I’ve since learned is fairly switched on. But she was compromised by the sponsors, and the speakers who she was forced to line up. I’ve never been as gobsmacked before to see speaker after speaker get up and say “I’ve been on Twitter for 6/12/18 months because I was told to join by my boss/ someone told me I should join and this is my experience.” Apparently being on Twitter for 5 minutes gave these people the license to speak for 5-25 minutes on being a social media expert.

He later goes on to point out that in the circles he travels in, if you’ve corralled 200 followers and sent out 20 tweets, that puts you among the “experts” in social media in Sydney. I’d like to add that it also seems to be close to the same in the United States.

Don’t take my word for it. Go to your Twitter stream and look through the followers and see how many “Social Media Consultant / Expert” titles you see. My guess is that you’ll see a lot of them. What does that mean, though?

Precisely nothing.

In 2010, we’ve been so enamored with the idea that everyone is equal and everyone has a voice that we forget that sometimes expert experience is necessary. Companies will take their social media campaigns to their CEO’s 15 year old nephew who’s “good with the Myspace” and not even think twice, then wonder why social media failed them. Instead of hiring a company with marketing experience, they go with the first person they find who has a Twitter account and ask them to lead their charge.

The converse is also true. Companies have no problem shelling out millions to a campaign manager because they claim to be an expert and have no actual PR experience, no marketing background, and no measurable and definable skill, and, as before, will blame social media for failing them.

Riley’s point is well-taken. When someone comes to your company with a proposal for a new warehouse procedure, inventory system, or accounting system, you will run that guy into the ground asking questions and making sure the person giving you advice and leading your company down a certain road is an expert or at least knowledgeable in their field. In social media, that isn’t just about number of Twitter followers no matter how much the “experts” tell you it is.

Here’s what you need to know when choosing a social media “expert” or setting up a new social media initiative in your business.

1. What have they done in the past?
Don’t accept vagaries. Have them cite specific examples of campaigns they have lead, companies they have worked for, and as best they can, numbers for the campaign. Don’t just accept their word for it, and if they can’t provide references that validate their success, consider going elsewhere.

2. What is their background?
If the sum of their experience is “I have a lot of followers on Twitter” then run screaming to someone else. Look for someone with a marketing or PR background. I know this may seem uncomfortable to a lot of you, but there’s still a lot of legwork and groundwork that has to be done for an effective campaign, and without the PR background, there’s a good chance your “expert” is just someone who’s going to help you bring a lot of fans / followers in and stop there.

3. Don’t do it yourself.
Ignore the “3 Things You Need to Do” and “5 Steps to Success On” lists. They’re crap, and they won’t produce any results without continual monitoring, updating, and so on. You wouldn’t leave your company’s accounting in your own hands, don’t leave your social media campaign there either. Likewise, don’t go along with the CEO’s 15 Year Old Myspace Loving Nephew unless he’s solely responsible for the outcome. If it involves you or your job, then act accordingly.

4. Don’t shop solely by price.
It’s easy to say “This guy will only charge $1000 to get our campaign going,” but in reality that probably means there isn’t much to it. While it’s not hard to find people overcharging quite a bit of cash for their expertise, there’s a happy medium if you look hard enough. Expertise does cost money but it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Shop around.

5. Don’t accept mediocre results if you’re paying for them.
This is the most important point. You may not be a social media expert, but if you’re hiring one and you’re not happy with the results, open your mouth, and walk if you need to. Don’t take their word for it when they tell you that the disappointing results are just the way it is. Beware, particularly, of experts charging an ongoing fee for their services who tell you their campaign needs time to ramp up. I know that’s obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people fall for it.

The takeaway for this one is simple: In any other area of your business, you wouldn’t accept someone’s claim of expertise blindly. Social media is no different, and you should treat it like every other aspect of your business: trust but verify. Google their name, get references, and be on top of it. Leaving it in someone’s hands without due diligence is a recipe for disaster.