What’s a social media mercenary? Someone you hire to blog, tweet, facebook, or otherwise be your voice on social networks.

I ended up coining this term during a twitter discourse with Jim Alexander (@tweetmaker) about whether or not this practice was good or not, and whether it should be transparent.  The point about social media that I like is that it needs to be both authentic and transparent.

Apparently, many companies hire tweet-makers like Jim to do all of their social media for them. If it is not disclosed, when (not if) it comes out, you will have lost some integrity.

Consumers understand that press releases are written by a firm.  Customer service can be done by an outsourced company – as long as the company is actually delivering service (which today sadly doesn’t happen enough). There are other tasks that can be outsourced.

But the conversation that you have with your customers, the dialog that builds a relationship, should be authentic. And by that I mean, it needs to come from a stakeholder – an employee, an owner, a shareholder, even the owner’s spouse. That’s the voice of the business.

When the CEO hires someone to blog for him, why bother?Just issue press releases. It’s about the same idea. The good blogs from executives offer insight, a story, a look inside, a personal touch. A good example is the Bear on Business blog from Zayo CEO Dan Caruso.

Do you think that Steve Jobs can hire someone to do the Apple presentations? Nope. The Mac-heads would freak out. Their relationship with Apple and Jobs is what gives the company that cult-like feel.

Do you think that Tony Hsieh at Zappos could have outsourced his social media and still built a $1B business?

Dell could probably have outsourced their Outlet twitter sales, but I bet it wouldn’t have worked as well or been tracked as accurately.

Can Rubbermaid outsource its forums and blogs? Probably not because it’s the tone and voice (and continuity) of the blog that keeps readers coming back. They come for the story from the storytellers that they know.

There’s the other side of the coin: companies complain that they don’t do social media because they can’t control the message. How do you control the message by outsourcing it?

I will say that in relationship building, it would be difficult to outsource. And the relationship would be damaged when it comes out that the conversation wasn’t with the manager at company X but their social media mercenary. And it will come out. We live in an age where privacy is disappearing more and more every day. It’s just a matter of time before that brand gets damaged due to a lack of transparency or authenticity.

And for Jim who says that his small business clients can’t find the time: I call bull sh!t. Employees are on social networks all day anyway. As a SM mercenary, my job is to get them all to spend 15 minutes per day on social networks for the good of the company. That’s a little harder than just doing it for them, but you can fish for someone or you can teach them how to fish.  (Of course, there’s more money in just fishing for them).

At the very least, these social media mercenaries need to be transparent. There needs to be a disclaimer that it is the agency not the actual company.

Would you hire someone to go to a business networking event for you? “Hey, Jim, here’s $40, go to the Hotspaces event and meet people for me and collect business cards. Hey, give them my card too.”

Would you hire a stand-in for a cocktail party?  These are the analogies I hear for social networks – cocktail parties and online networking events. How do you substitute?

What is a Social Media Linchpin? I don’t know. I was thinking about a number of things about social media.

1. The number of so-called experts running around “training” people in social media.
2. The idea of follower counts.
3. The concept of Fan.
4. Seth Godin’s Linchpin book.

When you combine that, the thought becomes that to be good at social media you need to be a linchpin. I know. What?

The idea of Linchpin is around being a vital part of your organization or community. The same way that you would be vital to your PTA or your School Board or your office in the physical world needs to be translated online.

There have been comparisons about how social media is a cocktail party or dating. Those are good analogies, but I am going to take it one step further.

It isn’t about getting thousands of followers. It isn’t about forcing people to be your fan. It isn’t about being a social media guru. It’s about being a Linchpin.

You can do this online – on Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn or Yahoo/Google groups or a forum – byb being the tribe leader. Start by being the Greeter. When someone new joins a forum or group or listserv, they generally don’t know the rules or etiquette. Say Hi and point them out. It’s a simple way to “meet” everyone.

Lead discussions – on any platform. Ask questions. Reply to questions. Infact, on LinkedIn this is a great way to become an Expert in a Niche. How many Best Answer awards can you get?

Connect people. On LinkedIn Answers, there is a spot to name experts. What a great way to prop someone up, give a referral, and help the person looking for answers. Recommendations on LinkedIn is another great way to give praise. (Gratitude is circular, btw).

Follow Friday (#ff) on Twitter is about telling everyone who you follow and why. It’s a nice shout out.

The Retweet (RT @theirname) on Twitter is another way to pass along useful info or spread the word. I usually will retweet with a comment if there’s room.

Commenting on a blog post; responding to discussions on LinkedIn, Yahoo or Google groups; and the other networks is a great way to start a conversation – to connect with someone. It allows the person who posted to know that someone is listening.

These seem simple enough, but people get caught up in the whole what-the-heck-is-social-media. Granted that each network has its own quirks and it takes time to figure each one out, but after you figure it out, ignore the platform/network/technology and hone in on the concept of being a Linchpin.

You can help organize, connect, lead, create – make Art – by being a Linchpin – online and offline. The point is to remember that it’s the same activity online or offline. Reaching out. Helping out. Conversing. Connecting. Listening. Engaging.

When you become a Linchpin, the followers will come. Everyone wants to connect with an Artist, Genius, Giver.

Gary Vaynerchuk was in Tampa tonight speaking about Crush It, his new book. He talked about branding your business via online marketing, which is what has made him famous. (On Wine Library TV).

Gary started in retail at the age of 6 with lemonade stands. That’s right: plural. He had others working for him over the summer. He understood early that business is about eyeballs.

We agree on 2 points:  (1) Storytelling is the key to business. (2) Social media is just a marketing tool like the printing press. It isn’t about the tool; it’s all about the story to the market.

Gary says that if you don’t get Twitter or Facebook, get over it because millions are using it. That’s where the eyeballs are, so you better be there. But doing what? It isn’t about Talking. It’s about Listening. (Which btw is a huge lesson in sales. Two ears, one mouth; listen twice as much as you talk

Too many businesses draw a line in the sand. You have to see trends and go with the flow. “Business is  a game of change.” If billions are on FB – but more important, if your target market is on FB or Twitter – then you need to be there to. Listening, engaging, telling your story. The World Wrestling Entertainment is about storytelling. Disney and Pixar are all about stories. Branding is about the story that the consumer has heard about your brand – the sum total of story, experience, WOM (word-of-mouth), and emotional tag. How you feel about Dunkin Donuts or Nike is the branding.

Another point he made has been made by Seth Godin: You have to know what business you are in. During Q&A (which was half the night), Gary kept asking people these questions:

• Who are you?
• What are you selling?
• What’s your story?
• Where are you going?
• What are your expectations?
• What do you expect to happen?
• What do you want to happen?

His answer to most questions was Content. That translates into Personal Branding online. Buy the domain yourname.com. Start a blog. Video, audio, text – doesn’t matter. Start producing content (and stories) about what you are passionate about, what you have knowledge about. But do it in your own voice. This is your online presence, your home on the Internet – just 15 years old but changing everything everyday.

He spoke over and again about Transparency. Basically, be authentic, because if you aren’t, you will be caught and outed. In a similar vein, remember that everything is recorded for posterity today. Cameras are everywhere. Everything you put online is permanent. If you aren’t authentic, it will come out.

When it comes to What are you selling, be Honest with yourself. It’s okay for it to be about the Benjamins. Just make certain that you know what you want and expect, so that you know where you are headed.

Gary Vee’s BHAG is to own the NY Jets. It’s what guides his actions. Having a seven month old child may have changed that just a little bit. He’s all about “Crushing It” – working smart and hard. He works 19 hours per day. (He is cutting back to 15 now). What’s yours? What guides your business decisions? What is  your Goal or Vision that keeps you motivated?  (It’s a key part of the equation).

Note: Lack of self-esteem and laziness is destroying business value.

Gary mentioned that WOM converts to a sale 70% of the time. Advertising converts 12%. Today, with online personal branding your job is to create fans, who will spread the word (re-tell your story) about your business to prospects, who will become customers.

We are becoming more connected and more documented every day. So the days of chasing the quick cash might be coming to an end.

Gary thinks the Wal-Mart Era is almost over and it will become the Niche Era. We will win next. Oops! There will be 2000 to 8000 of Yoga Chicks in your area. You better have the skills and the work ethic to beat them. YOU are the Differentiating factor.

Here’s why Gary thinks the Zappos story is so important: because it is the story about how Culture and Service won (not price). Zappos cost more than other online shoes stores, but the Culture was to make the customer happy. That won out (when its competitor, Amazon bought Zappos for $1B)

The other thing to notice is that customers are going through an Expectation Shift. Instant Customer Service will be expected or you will become a commodity (and lowest price will win).

BTW, that social media thing? It takes time to work, so be patient.

UPDATE:  Fellow Tampa blogger, Deana Goldasich, has  a great write-up about the Gary Vee talk here.