With the continued growth of social media as a powerful marketing tool and the increasing popularity of social networking sites, many businesses are jumping on board to seize the opportunity. But without a well thought out strategy these powerful tools could potentially cause more harm than good. Businesses are now finding it easier to hire social media consultants to help them navigate the world of social networking, but how many of these self-proclaimed experts really are experts? According to the BusinessWeek article, "Beware Social Media Snake Oil", Stephen Baker discusses the growing hype from critics that many would-be guides are leading clients astray.

"Critics complain that many of the new experts have adopted an orthodoxy that provides little flexibility for differing situations-or outcomes. Their pronouncements follow a rigid gospel: Be transparent, engage with your customers, break down silos. Yet these strictures don't always make business sense. Adam Kmiec, director of interactive marketing at Marc USA in Pittsburgh, tells of a company he met with that got much of its revenue from the Defense Dept. and had allocated $4 million for social media. "What do you hope to get?" he asked them. Ultimately, the client decided the privacy-obsessed Pentagon may not be thrilled with a supplier publicizing itself through Twitter."

According to Baker the inability to easily quantify social media dividends in hard numbers can sour companies on social media and the rich opportunities it represents, which could lead to a backlash, reducing social media investments. To silence the critics and avoid such a backlash social media practitioners might need to shift their focus from easy promises to results.