Question: I’m hiring a product marketer and I want great social media skills. All the candidates tell me that they have those skills but most of them don’t have much of a presence online. Does that matter? Do you need to be a heavy social media user in order to really understand it?
The Short Answer: Yes you do.
The Longer Answer: You do because:
A/ Marketing execution is much harder than theory. Social media isn’t much different from a lot of other classic product marketing skills – the theory isn’t all that tricky, it’s the execution that’s hard. If you wanted to hire someone to launch a new product into market, you’d talk to people who have done it before. Taking the course or reading the book doesn’t count for that much. Practical experience in product marketing counts for a lot. I read an awful lot of press releases before I started writing them and I was still lousy at it until I’d done it a few times. My first couple of integrated marketing campaigns were, ah, shall we say, less than perfect.
Social Media isn’t any different. I thought blogging was pretty easy until after my first (largely failed) attempt at running a group blog for a previous employer. I’m a better blogger now than I was even a year ago (I’m not saying I’m great, wise-apples, just better than last year). I don’t think I would have wanted to follow me when I first started using Twitter. I understood Facebook much better after my first attempt to do a company fan page and many of the things that in theory should have worked, didn’t and vice versa. It’s hard to know how you are going to react to a Troll online until you’ve been attacked by one. Experience counts for a lot. If you’re hiring a person to blog, use Twitter, do things on Facebook, participate in forums, etc. you’d be best to go with a candidate that has done than stuff, rather than a person who’s just watching from the sidelines.
B/ You Can’t Fake Passion. I had a boss that asked candidates in interviews to “sell” him whatever electronic gadget they had on them (cell phone, music player, laptop). What he was looking for was passion for technology. His quote was “If they aren’t excited about a piece of technology that they bought themselves then they won’t ever be able to get people excited about our stuff.” People that are passionate about social media aren’t participating because their boss told them to, they’re doing it because they think it’s really interesting and fun. If your candidates aren’t at least fooling around with this technology by now, I would question whether they will ever really get excited about it.
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blog post: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp #prodmgmt
RT @aprildunford: blog post: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp #prodmgmt
Today is #sm day in #prodmgmt & #prodmktg land 😉 – @aprildunford's new post ProdMktg & SocMed Skills:Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp
Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap @aprildunford http://ping.fm/x3f3n
RT @aprildunford: blog post: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp #prodmgmt
RT @aprildunford: blog post: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp #prodmgmt
RT @aprildunford: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp
"Product Marketing and Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap | Rocket Watcher Product Marketing for Startups" ( http://bit.ly/a0rI0T )
RT @jidoctor: Today is #sm day in #prodmgmt & #prodmktg land 😉 – @aprildunford's new post ProdMktg & SocMed Skills:Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp
RT @jidoctor: – @aprildunford's new post ProdMktg & SocMed Skills:Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp
RT @aprildunford: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp
RT @jyamasaki: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap @aprildunford http://ping.fm/x3f3n
Blog post- Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp #prodmgmt
Great Post — RT @aprildunford: Blog post- Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp #prodmgmt
I’m in marketing and I know I should be doing more with social media but I’m worried my company will stop me from doing it (we are in a very old industry, our customers aren’t really online) or think I’m goofing off at work if they catch me on Twitter or Facebook. What should I do?
Hi,
Thanks for the comment. First of all, if there is no call for you to do social media related things for your work (i.e. like in your case where you are selling to a demographic that is largely not online), then you will want to start experimenting with social media in your personal time and NOT while you are at work. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, just do it while you are at home. There is nothing stopping you from getting a Twitter account or experimenting with things on Facebook or starting a blog, just be clear that you do not represent your company in those spaces. It sounds like the folks at your company aren’t online much so they likely won’t notice/care what you do on your personal time. It’s important for you and your career to know this stuff though, because I think companies like yours that feel that they can ignore digital are becoming very, very rare. Your next job will require that you have some skills so you’ll need to work on them on your own time.
April
RT @aprildunford: Product Marketing & Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap http://bit.ly/aRgJCp – Agree!
Hi April.
Great post. I love the entry question! I have actually met a few individuals that claim they understand how social media works. By talking to them, you quickly understand that they do not understand it. And searches on-line reveal minimal to no presence or history. I don’t feel I understand it, yet I am more comfortable and experienced than they are.
Great thing about the Internet is transparency!
-mike
Hi Michael – thanks for the comment!
April
Love the simplicity from @aprildunford http://bit.ly/8XtJns A) Execution harder than theory B) Can’t Fake Passion
Question: I'm hiring a product marketer and I want great social media skills.? All the candidates tell me that t http://sorturl.net/?ba5b5f
Question: I'm hiring a product marketer and I want great social media skills.? All the candidates tell me that t http://sorturl.net/?ba5b5f
Question: I'm hiring a product marketer and I want great social media skills.? All the candidates tell me that t http://sorturl.net/?ba5b5f
Product #Marketing and Social Media Skills: Talk is Cheap via @aprildunford – http://t.co/hC0VcSiv