Yep, lots of snake oil. The number 5 for references you need to be careful with. As a solo consultant I've done some work with big PR firms that wanted me to sign an NDA, therefore I can't use the work as a reference, although ironically they can.

One of my big things is also simple: You consultant/strategist should be working under the "teach a man to fish" mindset. If you hear social media consultants trying to stay on board with a client for the forseeable future and/or if they are saying things like "Don't worry about blogging, hire me and I'll do it all for you", then you've got a cluless consultant.

Any real social media consultant knows that "good" work is getting the client to a point where they understand the value of creation a relationship with their audience, which come mostly from ongoing participation. Real consultants know that putting themselves out of work by making the client smarter is rarely the end of the job.

Great stuff, Josh.

Poor mastery of lingo is a major tip-off.

If the person talks about "this blog" when referring to a single post, or otherwise misuses terms that are common currency among bloggers and podcasters, then they're almost certainly faking it. It's just not that complicated that someone can't pick up the lingo in a few weeks.

On the other hand, it's quite possible for someone to be brilliant at the strategy and practice of blogging without being a whiz at the finer points of Photoshop.

Age of blog is HUGE.

And also No. 2. I think that can be further defined by the quality of the INBOUND links after a Technorati search as well. Simply having a blogroll of prominent names is not enough. Anybody can do that by copying another blogger’s list.

Some other ideas I've tried:

- When first researching a brand, I’ll Google: (brand’s name) + "complaint". You usually get some good hits. (Likewise for 'postive' comments).

Same for individuals/bloggers as well, just swap 'brand': (blogger's name)+jerk+blog

or: (blogger's name)+complaint+blog

Based on the results, you can see who considers the person a jerk versus just a generic use of the word on that blog which is obviously two entirely different things.

- Do they constantly proclaim themselves 'experts' on anything?

- Has another well-respected/prominent blogger you know come out and said anything either for OR against the party in question? Search their blogs and find out.

Thanks for sharing this. Selfishly, I needed this medicine - tho that doesn't cure the ailment (kind of a misery loves company dose).

I agree that outing the 'consultant' is not in anyone's best interest. Still it can be frustrating.

In time, the truth bubbles up.

All good guidelines -- particularly #4 (I'm assuming your rules are ethical-based, like WOMMA's).

I was involved in a discussion on the Yahoo! Group PRBytes with an individual who said the medium of the message didn't matter. Fake blogs are okay (i.e., not grass-roots like), posting comments on behalf of clients without disclosure was okay, and other.

That line of thinking is more prevalent than we want to beleive, I'm afraid.

Experience counts. So does playing by the rules of the social media arena.
Mike

Good post Josh. Though it does beg the question how long do you have to wait before you can provide blogging consulting services?

I am the opposite of the snake-oil types, in terms of personality. I am very reluctant to call myself and expert at anything and my peers (boss, colleagues, industry buddies) are always berating me that I undersell myself or just don't sell myself at all.

OK. That's my honest disclaimer out of the way...

I think it's important that we all acknowledge that the term "blog consultant" or somesuch moniker can mean a lot of things. In my case I advise and work with - typically - one-man-shows where the guy or gal is a subject-matter expert in some given field and wants to leverage blogging to get themselves much greater exposure online (and offline as a flow-on effect).

To be any good I find I have to *really* understand web design and web technologies, SEO and online marketing, PR (both on and offline), writing (the blogging kind), promotions strategy and "viral" approaches, etc, etc.

I could go on.

My point is that I think I have reason to be cautious in my own self-promotion, because there is SO much ground to cover in this game! And I'm someone who has been doing this full-time since 1995! And I still feel like the adage about a consultant just being someone who's a year ahead on the learning curve is in some sense true... well, a little maybe :)

So anyway, I just think we need to accept that we're in a rapidly evolving area where things change all the time. A few years ago I built two social networks (i.e. online communities) that became the biggest in Australia in their respective fields, and yet I know that today I've have gone about it a completely different way. And leave it a few years and I'm sure there'll be a whole new way to do it again.

I spend an hour a day in research, at least. I test things on my own blog (which I am still trying to "rev up" - it's a dentists teeth thing!), I pore over other people's successes.

And at the end of the day I go to be tired and overwhelmed by how much more I could do, how much better I could be, and how little I seem to know.

Am I alone here? Or are you all just gurus who are so much better than me?!?!

- Alister

After reading all these comments, two questions come to mind:

1. What makes someone an expert who is qualified to serve as counsel on a social media/social media marketing project?
2. Can someone consult on a project without a professional/personal blog that dates back ?

About #1
Social media consulting involves a broad variety of disciplines. There is the obvious technology component, the communications aspect and the business strategy part. There are very
few individuals who are highly skilled in all 3 aspects. So is someone who is not technically savvy to deal with the nuts and bolts of deploying a blog or producing a podcast or editing a video clip not qualified to consult on a corporate blogging program? I say it depends on the client's requirements for the project.

And #2
Depends on the scope and requirements of the project. I know quite a few former PR professionals who elect to post infrequently to their own blogs but have been perfectly competent on assisting their clients with developing a corporate blogging program.

I really agree with the part about checking out their site and seeing what they do for themselves.

No consultant is going to by pass the possibility of ranking or having a site that is visible to potentially get clients themselves.

I think you also want to avoid anyone that has standard pricing. I have been doing Social Media Consulting for a while and I have never had a project cost the same twice. Everyone has a difference goal, need, and requirement when it comes to their participation in social media.

Lastly, I think it is very important to make sure that the person who does your social media consulting is an active and success member of the social communities. How are you going to consult about Digg, Reddit, or even StumbleUpon and run successful campaigns if you are not even a successful member in the community yourself.