Found a great post on Techipedia where a slew of “social media” experts give their two cents about how they define social media. I found it interesting that, while some answers checked the normal boxes, some didn’t. My favorite reponse is from Muhammad Saleem, a “social media maven”. He says,

“A good social media marketer isn’t really a ‘marketer’. He/She is a connector (and is good at social networking), a maven (and is a thought leader and ‘information specialist’ or information resource), and a salesperson that can persuade an eskimo to buy ice. He has to not only be an information resource but be an active participant in the various social web communities that he claims proficiency in.

A good social media marketer is one who can start a conversation that people want to participate in.”

I like this definition because it transcends the traditional role of “social media” in to something more than someone who sits behind their computer. He’s saying that a successful social media marker will be a person that actually is social, and not just from behind an avatar.

I think that’s something that gets left out of the headlines these days (and rightly so), but is absolutely critical when doing any kind of advertising campaign. “Does it sell?” Why would you give a sales job to an introverted free-thinker?