In defense of social media experts

The Onion has a very funny video on social media experts.

So what is the value of social media experts? Why would anyone hire us? The genius of social media experts is understanding online conversations. Our skill is knowing how to present content in such a way that amplifies its impact. Lets take a well known example. Someone, no one knows who, secretly filmed Mitt Romney at a fundraiser where he said that 47% of Americans would not support him because there were dependent upon government handouts. And there the matter would have rested, on an obscure YouTube channel where almost no one would see it. Even the most sensational content needs promotion.

As we all know, a certain James Carter chanced upon it while surfing YouTube. Carter forwarded the video to a reporter at Mother Jones Magazine, and the rest is history. Carter did this as a Democrat, and a loss leader for his political consulting business. So if anyone wants to know the value of what we do, here it is. We take content that would other wise remain obscure and pitch it to someone, traditional media or online community, where people would be interested. It is very similar to traditional media relations, where you take a client's story and pitch it to the news organization that would be interested.

Done properly, there is great value in social media consulting.