Sure, you’ve been told numerous times how your business needs to be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest. Instagram, and the social network du jour. Maybe you even know how targeted social media would fit in with your integrated marketing efforts. It’s just that you’ve got your hands full as it is, running a business. Not everyone has time to figure out the Tao of Twitter.
So how do you know when it’s time to outsource the social media part of your marketing? Here are three indicators that are the first signs that it’s time to get professional help:
- You don’t understand it.
- You don’t enjoy it.
- You don’t have time.
If any one or more of those statements is true, save yourself the grief and get someone else who is good at it, likes doing it, and will make sure your social marketing gets done.
Is It Wrong To Outsource Social?
No. There’s nothing wrong with companies outsourcing their social media. Most do it for the same reason you’d hire an ad agency or a lawyer: You hire a specialist because it’s not always easy to represent yourself. Specialists do it better because they’re trained for it and do it full time.
With that said, do you really want to trust your digital brand presence to your college-age nephew who’s into blogging? Here’s why you should consider a social media marketing specialist, or even a full-service digital agency.
The Pulse of the Customer
Agencies can sometimes know more about a brand than the company knows about itself because a social media agency is actually closer to the pulse of the customer and what they’re interested in. An agency can also provide a more objective analysis of the market.
“A social community manager is on the frontlines and knows what the customers want,” explained Jason Raich, owner of SocialEnvi, a social media marketing agency based in Los Angeles. “The company is trying to guess what the customers want. An agency can relay consumer suggestions to the client and listen objectively.”
Set Social Media Goals
Before expanding your integrated marketing campaign into social media, decide why (specifically) you’re doing it. What does your company want to get out of social media? What are your business goals?
Examples of realistic social media marketing goals can include awareness in the form of more Likes, Followers, subscribers, etc. Raich mentioned that his client Chipotle has grown because the fans have been vocal about it and the company has responded.
Another goal may be to build your customer email list; drive traffic to the company website; improve SEO rankings through increased social media presence and content; or the objective may be to increase sales of a particular product. Regardless of your goals, you should know before going in what you want to get out of your social media marketing.
